Hours after one of the biggest social media outages in recent years, two Gqeberha men appeared in separate courts for having used some of the platforms to allegedly distribute menacing messages.
While Bay legal experts acknowledge that social media has provided an important platform for people to exercise their right to freedom of speech, there are limitations to these rights and certain transgressions will land you behind bars.
A 36-year-old Gqeberha man who is believed to have used WhatsApp video calls to harass women over the course of more than seven years made another appearance in the city’s regional court.
The man, who cannot be named as he has not yet pleaded to the charges against him, is expected back in court on Friday, where he intends pleading guilty to charges of exposing an adult to witnessing self-masturbation, indecent exposure and crimen injuria.
At least 25 women, mostly estate agents, fell victim to the Pinelands resident’s alleged WhatsApp video calls.
They unwittingly answered a call from someone they believed was a potential client, only to see a man allegedly masturbating.
The man has allegedly been harassing women via WhatsApp since 2016.
He was arrested on Thursday and appeared in the magistrate’s court in Gqeberha on Friday.
State prosecutor Linda Le Roux told the court on Tuesday that there had been consultations between the man and the state, and they were ready to hear his plea.
According to Bay attorney Tania Koen, though the right to dignity and freedom of expression is entrenched in the constitution, Section 36 of the constitution recognises the reasonable and justifiable limitation of rights, particularly to the extent that the limitation is reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom.
“Freedom of speech is limited in the constitution.
“If someone posted or disseminated [inappropriate] information on social media they could face both criminal and civil charges,” Koen said.
“Think about what you post, share or like.
“In terms of [social media] law, you may not post content that infringes on or violates someone else’s rights or otherwise violates the law,” Koen said.
In relation to the 36-year-old’s case, police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said 25 women had already been interviewed by the Gauteng provincial serial and electronic crime investigation unit.
It is alleged that between March 2016 and July 2021 the man would use internet search engines to find the names and numbers of women estate agents and businesswomen, and video call them.
Potchefstroom private investigator Johan Botes, who had been working on the case since September 2020, said it was much bigger than initially thought.
Botes was first alerted to the matter by a school friend who had approached him to help a friend of his who had allegedly fallen victim to the man.
In the charge sheet before court, at least 14 women’s names have been listed in the charges against him.
In a separate case being heard in the Gqeberha high court, Thembinkosi Ngcolomba, 33, has been charged with 12 counts of rape, nine of trafficking persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation and seven of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
It is alleged that between May 2016 and February 2018, Ngcolomba raped nine women after luring them to secluded spots near NU29 in Motherwell using an alias.
He allegedly used Facebook to strike up conversations with the women.
They would be persuaded to to meet a relative of his, who would later turn out to be him.
The women would then be convinced to accompany him through a bushy area, where he would allegedly rape and rob them.
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