South Africa’s opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema was temporarily barred from tweeting on his official account for violating Twitter guidelines, local media report.
Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, a member of parliament and EFF party member on Tuesday posted on his own account a screenshot of the Twitter message that notified Mr Malema of the temporary ban.
Mr Malema was barred from tweeting, retweeting, following accounts and liking posts for about 12 hours.
Mr Malema threatened to mobilise supporters to participate in the deadly unrest that has engulfed KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces.
“No soldiers on our streets! Otherwise, we are joining. All fighters must be ready…they won’t kill us all. We need a political solution to a political problem, not soldiers,” Mr Malema had posted on Twitter in protest against the deployment of soldiers.
President Cyril Ramaphosa authorised the deployment of troops to the two regions to assist quell the unrest that followed the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma.
Mr Ramaphosa also warned the public against using social media to share false and inflammatory content.
The authorities have said at least 12 people are being investigated for “inciting violence on social media”.
Police Minister Beki Cele said they were investigating Twitter posts by Zuma’s daughter, Dudu Zuma-Sambudla, for “championing lawlessness”.
Accounts associated with Dudu have shared posts criticising the authorities and content praising and encouraging protests against her father’s imprisonment.
Source: BBC
