A South African man was arrested Monday for allegedly photoshopping President Cyril Ramaphosa’s face onto pornographic images.
The 34-year-old man allegedly edited and then distributed the images with not only the face of Ramaphosa superimposed, but also Police Minister Bheki Cele and his wife, the Associated Press (AP) reported, citing police. The man will appear in court Tuesday in the South African capital of Pretoria. He is charged with violating the Cyber Crimes Act, which regulates the accessing and processing of digital data.
It says a man from Pietermaritzburg has been arrested for adding photoshpped images of President Cyril Ramaphosa into pornography. https://t.co/oEiSZKskGi
— Siphumelele Zondi (@SZondi) May 22, 2023
The alleged culprit distributed the images on social media, and also went one step further and sent them to police officers, police reportedly said. Law enforcement began investigating the incident sometime in May when the images were first being distributed, police spokesman Philani Nkwalase told the news site TimesLive, according to AP.
The man was reportedly tracked to the city of Pietermaritzburg in eastern South Africa, where he was apprehended by law enforcement.
Distribution of pornographic materials is restricted by law in South Africa, despite pornography being legal in the country. (RELATED: CIA May Have Helped South Africa Arrest Mandela, Report Suggests)
Ramaphosa, a wealthy businessman and owner of McDonald’s South Africa with a nine-figure net worth, was elected President of the African National Congress in December 2017 and became President of South Africa in 2018.