Bheki Cele apologises to Muslim community over ‘blasphemous’ Muhammad remarks

Police Minister Bheki Cele has apologised to the Muslim community after a South African Police Service (SAPS) member insulted the Islamic Prophet Muhammad on Friday in Mpumalanga.

In a video that is circulating on social media, a group of 24 Muslims can be seen at Saturday prayers ahead of Ramadan with no one observing any social distancing measures.

The police can be heard chastising the group, and informing them they are all under arrest. One man who appears to explain something in mitigation is told, “You are an adult,” along with being told that they are blatantly ignoring a measure decided on by the president of the country.

“You mean the president is crazy?” the police ask in the footage.

Controversially, one of the officers can then be heard challenging the worshippers with a comment asking: “Are you bigger than the president? Heh? Or Muhammad is bigger than the president?”

The group was arrested for contravening the Covid-19 Disaster Management Lockdown Regulations in relation to the prohibition of gatherings.

Cele has issued an apology to the Muslim community for the “blasphemous” remarks during the arrest.

“The comment made about Prophet Mohammed, which can be heard at the end of the video, is rather unfortunate and it is unacceptable that someone could make such an utterance. Therefore, the SAPS management has directed that this matter too be investigated and the person/s who made the comment about the Prophet be identified and brought to book.

“Minister Cele wishes to emphasise that police have a constitutional obligation to enforce the laws of the country, a duty to be executed within the confines of the same laws, applied with no prejudice against any gender, race or creed,” said the SAPS in a statement.

The matter is currently under an urgent investigation by the SAPS to establish the identity of the person behind the remarks.

Cele further reiterated government’s call to religious leaders to ensure a collective effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

This after a video clip went viral on social media showing a man encouraging “all Muslims…. to engage in worship in congregation”. Further on in the video the same man offers free legal services to anyone who might get arrested for such contravention.

“The Minister has subsequently condemned this call that seeks to mobilise the public to defy the laws of this country and undermine the authority of the State; and has called for an investigation into this matter.

“It is within this context that Minister Cele is reminding all citizens of the country to always be conscious of the primary purpose of the Covid-19 Disaster Management Lockdown Regulations, which is to protect South Africans from the corona virus.

“When people, wittingly or unwittingly, violate the lockdown regulations, police are left with no choice but to enforce the law where in some instances this means arresting people,” said Cele in a statement.

Also read: SAPS orders probe into officer who made demeaning remarks about Muhammad

The men were released on bail on Saturday.

Since the start of the long weekend, police have arrested 41 congregants in two separate religious gatherings, including the group in Mpumalanga.

In the first incident, members of the SAPS Tactical Response Team (TRT) arrested 17 men on Friday after the congregants converged in a building in Pretoria West.

All 17 suspects are still in police custody as police await confirmation on their nationalities from the department of Home Affairs.

“They will be either be released on bail, issued with a fine, and or taken to court on Tuesday, 28 April 2020, depending on the outcome of the preliminary investigations,” said the SAPS.

(Compiled by Vhahangwele Nemakonde)

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