Bathabile Dlamini distances herself from fake Facebook profiles
18 September 2018
Minister in the Presidency for Women Bathabile Dlamini distanced herself from "bogus" Facebook accounts in her name on Tuesday.
News24 found at least 15 Facebook profiles in her name.
The accounts mostly shared photos of Dlamini and a few motivational messages, such as: "Let's join hands together to move our country forward".
Many followers responded with admiration and excitement at having their friend request accepted by a minister and a few asked for help in the form of jobs or networking.
Due to privacy settings, it was not clear what was shared with followers.
Dlamini's spokesperson Mandla Tshabalala strongly condemned "any fraudulent activities" performed in her name through the accounts.
"The ministry further wishes to put it on record that she does not have a Facebook account. The minister therefore distances herself from the comments, views and photographs made by the fake Facebook account in her name."
Last week, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Zweli Mkhize also condemned the use of his name and photographs on Facebook profiles in his name.
One account under the name "Zweli Mkhize" had a sexually explicit profile picture attached to it.
Mkhize, who does not have a personal account on the social media site, requested that Facebook shut down activity on the fake accounts.
