Photo: Twitter
Photo: Twitter
It’s the sex scandal that went global: An inmate and a guard at a KZN prison in Ncome were filmed ‘getting it on’ this week, grossly violating Correctional Services’ most simple rules. However, amid the media frenzy, some claims have been completely fabricated – leading to the emergence of several prominent ‘fake news stories’.
KZN prison sex scandal – fact or fiction?
Both parties involved are set to face strict disciplinary action. The Justice Ministry has been left red-faced too, and despite its best efforts to prevent the explicit video clips from spreading, a number of major porn sites are now featuring the footage. It’s still illegal to distribute or share the footage yourself, as this constitutes a ‘revenge porn’ offence.
Separating facts from fiction when a story gets this salacious isn’t an easy task. But we’ve identified three claims that have since been debunked in the past 24 hours. If anyone in your WhatsApp groups tries to tell you about any of these, make sure you point them in the right direction to prevent ‘fake news’ articles reaching anyone else within your circle.
Prisoner-guard sex tape – busting the fake news:
Claim: The couple featured in the video are actually married
Reality: Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo has poured cold water on this one, almost immediately after the sex scandal became public knowledge. Online sleuths thought they’d uncovered a major conspiracy on Wednesday, but according to Nxumalo, ‘it is simply not true that the prisoner and the official are married’.
Claim: The female prison guard from Ncome has committed suicide
Reality: This never happened. Although the warden has deleted her Facebook account, she remains alive and well pending a disciplinary hearing. The confusion appears to arise from a story that broke in 2017 – where a prison guard working at Losperfontein Correctional Centre in North West DID kill herself, after her relationship with an inmate went public.
Claim: These pictures prove that the pair had a relationship
Reality: Several pictures of a woman kissing and caressing a male in orange overalls was purported to feature the Ncome sex scandal duo. However, this is once again a false claim. The pictures that circulated online relate to a story from four years ago – they DO NOT show the amorous pair who got themselves caught on camera this week.
