An Eastern Cape teacher says his life has been a living hell since pictures of him circulated on social media claiming he was involved in a card-cloning scam.
He even received a death threat from one of the victims, who threatened to hunt him down and kill him.
Bongolethu Bizana, 29, who teaches at Impumelelo High School in Sterkspruit, said the pictures showed him and his car.
Eastern Cape police have warned sharply against linking people to crimes on social media without proof.
Bizana said he had been forced to keep a low profile after being accused of being part of a gang of thieves who robbed people at ATMs across East London.
“I have been cleared by the Hawks and the police but I still receive phone calls from people threatening me and my family.
“Everyday I see my car being posted on social media and labelled it as a car belonging to a criminal,” said Bizana.
The 29-year-old holds an agriculture degree and teaching certificate from the University of Fort Hare.
He told the Daily Dispatch how his world was turned upside down when a post went up on Facebook on December 3.
“I got a call from my sister saying that my car is posted on a Facebook page called Crime Spotter Buffalo City and it was said it was being used by people involved in a bank card scam in Amalinda and surrounding areas.
“Immediately I went to the Fleet Street police station to clear my name and to report the claims levelled against me,” said Bizana.
On December 3 Facebook user Cheryl Evans posted on the Crime Spotter Buffalo City Facebook page that a “Polo HLM 857 EC blue with sunroof is robbing bank cards in Amalinda Shoprite.
“Be careful when using ATM”.
The post went viral in minutes.
Evans, who was shocked that the information was wrong, said had got the info from a What’s App group of which she is part.
“It was posted by a number. The name that comes up is Jesus is my Anchor. I am not too sure of the name of the person,” said Evans.
When the Daily Dispatch tried calling the number it went straight to voicemail.
Evans said she would exercise caution next time she posted something similar.
“Thank you for teaching me a lesson. I will no longer just copy and re-post an article. I had no idea this was not true. I do apologise,” she said.
Impumelelo High School principal Mawonga Manqanqa said the matter was worrying because parents trusted them with their children.
“We are hoping that this case can be closed as soon as possible so that Bizana’s and the school’s name is cleared.
“The more the information gets shared the more character damaging it is for the teacher and eventually for the school,” said Manqanqa.
Bizana said he was now living in fear of his life. “Mob justice is real and it is my biggest fear.
“You never know how people will react when they are convinced that you have wronged them even though it is not true,” he said.
Police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala said no case had been registered involving the vehicle owned by Bizana.
“There is no report that says this car has been involved in any criminal activities at Fleet Street,” she said.
Mqala cautioned members of the public to take care when posting information about other people and linking them to criminal activities.
“This is people’s lives you are playing with and once the information is in the public domain it is difficult to communicate the truth,” she said.
Hawks spokeswoman Anelisa Feni said the unit was not investigating any case linked to the car or its owner.
Attempts to get comment from the administrators of Crime Spotter Buffalo City were unsuccessful at the time of writing yesterday. — simthandilef@dispatch.co.za
Man fears for life as false claim goes viral
He even received a death threat from one of the victims, who threatened to hunt him down and kill him.
Bongolethu Bizana, 29, who teaches at Impumelelo High School in Sterkspruit, said the pictures showed him and his car.
Eastern Cape police have warned sharply against linking people to crimes on social media without proof.
Bizana said he had been forced to keep a low profile after being accused of being part of a gang of thieves who robbed people at ATMs across East London.
“I have been cleared by the Hawks and the police but I still receive phone calls from people threatening me and my family.
“Everyday I see my car being posted on social media and labelled it as a car belonging to a criminal,” said Bizana.
The 29-year-old holds an agriculture degree and teaching certificate from the University of Fort Hare.
He told the Daily Dispatch how his world was turned upside down when a post went up on Facebook on December 3.
“I got a call from my sister saying that my car is posted on a Facebook page called Crime Spotter Buffalo City and it was said it was being used by people involved in a bank card scam in Amalinda and surrounding areas.
“Immediately I went to the Fleet Street police station to clear my name and to report the claims levelled against me,” said Bizana.
On December 3 Facebook user Cheryl Evans posted on the Crime Spotter Buffalo City Facebook page that a “Polo HLM 857 EC blue with sunroof is robbing bank cards in Amalinda Shoprite.
“Be careful when using ATM”.
The post went viral in minutes.
Evans, who was shocked that the information was wrong, said had got the info from a What’s App group of which she is part.
“It was posted by a number. The name that comes up is Jesus is my Anchor. I am not too sure of the name of the person,” said Evans.
When the Daily Dispatch tried calling the number it went straight to voicemail.
Evans said she would exercise caution next time she posted something similar.
“Thank you for teaching me a lesson. I will no longer just copy and re-post an article. I had no idea this was not true. I do apologise,” she said.
Impumelelo High School principal Mawonga Manqanqa said the matter was worrying because parents trusted them with their children.
“We are hoping that this case can be closed as soon as possible so that Bizana’s and the school’s name is cleared.
“The more the information gets shared the more character damaging it is for the teacher and eventually for the school,” said Manqanqa.
Bizana said he was now living in fear of his life. “Mob justice is real and it is my biggest fear.
“You never know how people will react when they are convinced that you have wronged them even though it is not true,” he said.
Police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala said no case had been registered involving the vehicle owned by Bizana.
“There is no report that says this car has been involved in any criminal activities at Fleet Street,” she said.
Mqala cautioned members of the public to take care when posting information about other people and linking them to criminal activities.
“This is people’s lives you are playing with and once the information is in the public domain it is difficult to communicate the truth,” she said.
Hawks spokeswoman Anelisa Feni said the unit was not investigating any case linked to the car or its owner.
Attempts to get comment from the administrators of Crime Spotter Buffalo City were unsuccessful at the time of writing yesterday. — simthandilef@dispatch.co.za
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