Police in South Africa have refuted claims that a woman was arrested at a popular supermarket for using fake lobola money in Jukulyn, outside Pretoria.
This comes after news spread over the weekend with reports that the woman received the money from her Nigerian son-in-law, who paid the lobola money in cash.
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The report also claimed that the woman’s brothers, who were part of the lobola negotiations, were also arrested after trying to use the money at shops.
It was alleged that the police were summoned to the store, and the mother of the bride was arrested on the scene.
Police Investigate reports on Fake Lobola money
Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Mavela Masondo said an investigation was opened after the false reports.
Masondo said that officers from the Rietgat police station probed the validity of the allegations and could confirm they were false.
“Police visited a local Shoprite store and spoke to the manager, who denied claims that their store caught anyone paying with fake money. There is also no such case registered at Rietgat and the neighboring police stations,” Masondo added.
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Masondo pleaded with social media users to stop spreading false information as it was a waste of police resources.
He said it was disheartening that irresponsible social media users would deliberately post misinformation about an area while others share carelessly without verifying whether the story is accurate.
“The sharing of misinformation puts the South African Police Service at a disadvantage because all the allegations of crime have to be investigated. This leads to the police utilizing state resources and losing valuable time that could have been better utilized to investigate real incidents.
Eventually, that also disadvantages victims of crime and hampers service delivery,” he said.
