JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – JANUARY 23: Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. Photo by Gallo Images/Sowetan/Veli Nhlapo)
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – JANUARY 23: Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. Photo by Gallo Images/Sowetan/Veli Nhlapo)
Acting Chief Justice and State Capture Commission Chair Raymond Zondo is a man who selects his words carefully. When he does so, it’s usually within the confines of the court room and certainly not within the parameters of a 140-character Twitter post, as his office has pointed out on Saturday.
Zondo’s office released a statement to the press on Saturday in which they insist that a rogue Twitter account parading itself as belonging to to the State Capture Chair is fake, and in no way reflects the views of one of the country’s most senior Judges.
‘Parody’ Raymond Zondo account discovered
In the statement, the Office of the Chief Justice Zondo said that they felt it necessary to warn members of the public and social media network users of a “parody Twitter account purporting to be that of Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, using the handle @BraZondo @ZondoCommission”.
“The Acting Chief Justice does not have a Twitter account nor has an account been created for him by the Office of the Chief Justice,” they clarified.
“The views expressed on the parody Twitter account do not represent those of Acting Chief Justice Zondo nor that of the South African Judiciary.”
Judiciary warns public to be vigilant of fake accounts
The account in question currently boasts 10.3 thousand followers, and presents itself with a picture of Zondo at the State Capture Commission. It broadcasts the bold bio, which reads “fixing the country”.
It appears that the administrator of the account is far more interested in sport than efforts to root out corruption in South Africa, with tweets like this the general benchmark of the account’s offering:
Zondo’s office said in the statement on Saturday that the public should always check that they aren’t being duped by similar bogus accounts.
“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,” they said.
