Johannesburg - A person pretending to be Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe on Facebook has been trying to solicit bribes from members of the public, Motlanthe's office confirmed on Friday.
“This impostor, on Facebook, asked someone to pay him in (United Kingdom) pounds to qualify for business and contracts,” Motlanthe's spokesman Thabo Masebe said.
The fake Motlanthe asked his Facebook friend for an amount of £450 (about R7 200), which he found to be quite odd.
“This person then contacted us (presidency) to ask if this might be possible and we alerted him that he was dealing with someone who is posing as Deputy President Motlanthe,” Masebe said.
The matter was reported to Facebook but it was unclear how long it would take for the account to be closed.
Masebe said the account appeared to be a recent creation, which accumulated at least 5 000 friends in about two weeks.
The Sowetan newspaper reported that Police Ministry spokesman Zweli Mnisi said impersonating another person in any form was a crime.
He also revealed that the state passed the National Cyber Security Policy Framework Act to address the matter. - Sapa