Cape Town — Academic and PhD holder, Simamkele Dlakavu, was forced to respond to a death threat she allegedly made on her X account towards former president, Jacob Zuma.
Dlakavu took to her X account to clear the air after a series of X posts were made from her account, calling for the assassination and death of Jacob Zuma. Three X posts showed Dlakavu pleading and begging for Zuma’s death. X user, @Bright_Afrika, shared screenshots of the posts.
“Imagine, I wrote a whole PhD about how much I wanted Jacob Zuma to die. Now, it’s just time to make it a reality. I have already manifested his death.” one post read.
“I wish Jacob Zuma a very painful death. I will not apologise . And I can say that in any public platform.” another post read.
We knew you were gonna say that.. uyaxoka ftsek likutshonele emini ngoku ubugeza upetsula apha. Kudala wageza futhi wena.👀 pic.twitter.com/rl0Nf8NSl0
— Abdulliyesizwe🇿🇦 (@Bright_Afrika) June 8, 2024
In response, Dlakavu took to her X account and wrote a statement to clear the air over the comments, saying she was hacked.
“My social media accounts (@SimamkeleD) were hacked, and harmful words against [former] president Zuma were expressed. We’ve now successfully accessed, protected the accounts and deleted the tweets. This experience has had a significant impact on me, and I humbly need privacy during this time.” she wrote.
“Given the present political climate, such sentiments are especially concerning. We are collaborating with authorities to investigate and identify the perpetrators, particularly because they may be aware of my political beliefs,” she continued.
“Its unfortunate that this occurred during Mental Health Awareness Month, because such malicious attempts continue to risk many lives. Thank you for your understanding and support.” she concluded.
According to IOL, political analysts and commentators expressed concern over Dlakavu’s post, labelling it attention-seeking and an abuse of free speech.
“Zuma is one of the most protected individuals as a former statesman. Why would any sane person make threats on social media, especially about someone of Zuma’s stature? The Dr is just an attention-seeker.” Sandile Gumede said.
“The comment borders on hate speech and incitement to violence. While it is egregious and ill-advised, it is not a statement made by a person with enough following to constitute a threat.” Ongama Mtimka said.
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Picture: X/@Judas7kisses
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
