Dirco have confirmed that an account claiming to be an employee of the department is fake.
Photo: Twitter/Dirco
Dirco have confirmed that an account claiming to be an employee of the department is fake.
Photo: Twitter/Dirco
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) has warned Twitter and Facebook users that a fake account has been masquerading as an employee of theirs and distributing false information to people seeking repatriation to South Africa.
An account with the alias “Mpho Jandros” has been reaching out to people on the social media platforms and assuming the role as an advisor to the department, fielding complaints and queries without having ever been employed by them.
User ‘unknown to department’
The user also claims to have previously worked as an advisor at the State Security Agency.
Veteran journalist Max Du Preez took the bait when the fake account posted that South Africans living abroad should begin stealing ideas, knowledge, data and technical diagrams for nuclear reactors and weapon manufacturing to be presented to South African firms. He simply retweeted the statement with the caption “unbelievable”.
“A call to the African Diaspora worldwide – it’s time to start stealing,” the account said.
“Whatever organisation you are working for, steal their ideas, their technology, their processes, and start a similar organisation focused on African interests or for your personal gain.”
Dirco then cleared up the confusion on Twitter on Saturday 14 June.
“Please be advised that this is a fake account posting fake news. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation does not have such an individual in its employ” the department wrote on it’s official Twitter account.
Dirco continue to repatriate stranded South Africans
Despite a number of repatriation flights having successfully brought thousands of South Africans home after they became stranded in international cities when the lockdown came into effect, Dirco are still arranging flights to bring more people back.
They announced on Sunday 14 May that two flights are scheduled from Amsterdam through the KLM airline for South Africans stuck in the Netherlands.
“Two additional repatriation flights are scheduled to fly from Amsterdam to Cape Town (19/06) and Johannesburg (20/06),” they wrote on twitter.
“Please contact the travel agency referenced in the KLM notice for a booking. Thereafter, kindly contact the SA Embassy for passenger verification.”
