Chief justice office warns public of parody Twitter accounts using Raymond Zondo's name

The chief justice office has warned the public of two Twitter accounts claiming to be posting tweets from acting chief justice Raymond Zondo, saying they are fake. 

Over the weekend, the office exposed the two parody accounts claiming to belong to the state capture commission and the chair of the commission. 

The office said the accounts, @BraZondo and @ZondoCommission, were not created by Zondo and the office has not created any accounts for him.

“The views expressed on the parody Twitter account do not represent those of acting chief justice Zondo nor that of the South African judiciary,” said the office in a statement.  

“Members of the public and media are requested to contact the office of the chief justice to verify the authenticity of any social media account that purports to be that of a judge before attributing any statement made on the account to a judge.”

The exposed accounts are not the only two that bear Zondo's name. A quick glance on the app shows there are more than 10 accounts using his name.

Other public and political figures whose names have been used to create fake accounts include former president Jacob Zuma and his son, Duduzane.

Last year, the police ministry also condemned more than 160 social media accounts across Twitter and Facebook under police minister Bheki Cele's name. 

The ministry said the fake accounts angered Cele, saying that they jeopardise the lives of law-abiding citizens whose intention is to work and collaborate with the police on crime prevention.

“Cele has denounced any social media account in his name as fake and has issued a stern warning to those impostors whose motive for impersonating the minister cannot be for anything else but to draw unsuspecting social media users into their criminal activities.”