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Public warned about impersonator posing as Eastern Cape acting judge president

Sowetan · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · · 539 words · By Modiegi Mashamaite
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What to know about Public warned about impersonator posing as Eastern Cape acting judge president

Story audio is generated using AI The office of the chief justice (OCJ) has warned the public about a person allegedly impersonating the acting judge president of the Eastern Cape Zamani Nhlangulela.

Claims checked 8
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center100%
Right0%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Story audio is generated using AI The office of the chief justice (OCJ) has warned the public about a person allegedly impersonating the acting judge president of the Eastern Cape Zamani Nhlangulela.

Why it matters

The OCJ said it had become aware of an individual sending WhatsApp messages purporting to be from Nhlangulela.

Common ground

“It has come to the attention of the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) that there is an individual impersonating acting judge president Zamani Nhlangulela, of the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court,” the office said in a statement.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-08-23-public-warned-about-impersonator-posin…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 8
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Claim 1: “In March 2024, the OCJ issued another warning after a scammer allegedly created a WhatsApp account registered under the name “Chief Justice MM Maya”.”
CORROBORATED
The warning from March 2024 regarding the impersonation of Deputy Chief Justice Mandisa Maya (referred to as MM Maya) is confirmed by SAnews and other web search results.
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web search NEUTRAL — According to the information available to the OCJ, the individual sent a WhatsApp message to an OCJ official requesting contact numbers of Judges.Ends. Media enquiries: Email: mediaenquiries@judiciary…
https://www.judiciary.org.za/images/news/2024/Media_Statemen…
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web search NEUTRAL — Friday, March 8, 2024. The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) has warned the public about a scammer impersonating Deputy Chief Justice Mandisa Maya. The OCJ said the scammers are using Whatsapp to lure…
https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/ocj-warns-impersonati…
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web search NEUTRAL — Chief Justice Maya concerned about impersonation of her PA.“The justice [Jafta] brought to the attention of the OCJ that an individual impersonating the retired justice has contacted individuals using…
https://sundayworld.co.za/news/ocj-warns-public-about-indivi…
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Claim 2: “The office of the chief justice (OCJ) has warned the public about a person allegedly impersonating the acting judge president of the Eastern Cape Zamani Nhlangulela.”
CORROBORATED
The claim is reported by Timeslive and corroborated by multiple web search results confirming the OCJ issued a warning about an impersonator of Acting Judge President Zamani Nhlangulela.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The chief justice of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head of the judiciary of Sri Lanka and the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Established in 1801, the chief justice is one of ten S…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Justice_of_Sri_Lanka
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Chief Justice of the Philippines (Filipino: Punong Mahistrado ng Pilipinas) is the title of the person who presides over the Supreme Court and who is the highest judicial officer of the government. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Justice_of_the_Philippin…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States and is the highest-ranking officer of the federal judiciary. Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Justice_of_the_United_St…
+ 4 more evidence sources
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Claim 3: “In one of the most recent cases, the OCJ warned the public about an individual allegedly using Constitutional Court justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga’s photographs on WhatsApp while impersonating him.”
CORROBORATED
The impersonation of Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga using photographs on WhatsApp is confirmed by Timeslive and a specific OCJ media statement found via web search.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is the justice department of the South African government. The department provides administrative and financial support to the court system and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Justice_and_Cons…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Civil Court of the City of New York is a civil court of the New York State Unified Court System in New York City that decides lawsuits involving claims for damages up to $50,000 and includes a sma…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Civil_Court
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Patricia Lynette Goliath (born 15 October 1964) is a South African judge of the High Court of South Africa. She has been the acting Judge President of the Western Cape Division since December 2022, wh…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Goliath
+ 4 more evidence sources
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Claim 4: “In February 2025, the office issued an alert about an impersonator allegedly contacting members of the public and soliciting money while pretending to be judge Mandela Makaula of the Eastern Cape High Court.”
CORROBORATED
The alert from February 2025 regarding Judge Mandela Makaula and the solicitation of money is confirmed by Timeslive and a specific OCJ media statement dated 19 February 2025.
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web search NEUTRAL — 19 February 2025. Media Statement - Individual impersonating Judge Makaula.The cellphone number used by the impersonator is +27 78 489 3250. The public is hereby warned not to fall prey to this impers…
https://www.judiciary.org.za/images/news/2025/Media_Statemen…
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web search NEUTRAL — In February 2025, the office issued an alert about an impersonator allegedly contacting members of the public and soliciting money while pretending to be judge Mandela Makaula of the Eastern Cape High…
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-08-23-pub…
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web search NEUTRAL — Judge Mandela Makaula's rubbishing claims by pastor Timothy Omotoso's defence that he's biased towards witness, Cheryl Zondi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGXBWG_nKBk
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 5: “In another case in 2022, the OCJ warned the public about an individual allegedly posing as Supreme Court of Appeal judge Dumisani Zondi Mabindla-Boqwana.”
CORROBORATED
The 2022 warning regarding the impersonation of Justice Mabindla-Boqwana is confirmed by Timeslive and an OCJ statement. Note: The claim says 'Dumisani Zondi Mabindla-Boqwana', while evidence identifies the judge as 'Nolwazi Mabindla-Boqwana', but the event of the impersonation is corroborated.
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web search NEUTRAL — It has been brought to the attention of the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) that an individual impersonating Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) Justice Nolwazi Mabindla-Boqwana, has contacted persons, an…
https://www.judiciary.org.za/images/news/2022/Media_Statemen…
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web search NEUTRAL — Nolwazi Penelope Mabindla-Boqwana is a South African judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal. Before she joined the Supreme Court in July 2021, she was a judge in the Western Cape High Court between 2013…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nolwazi_Mabindla-Boqwana
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web search NEUTRAL — The individual allegedly contacted OCJ staff in an attempt to obtain contact details for other sitting judges. In another case in 2022, the OCJ warned the public about an individual allegedly posing a…
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-08-23-pub…
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 6: “In December 2023, retired Constitutional Court justice Chris Jafta approached the OCJ after discovering that an individual was allegedly attempting to contact members of the public using his identity.”
CORROBORATED
The report from December 2023 regarding retired Justice Chris Jafta is confirmed by Timeslive, an OCJ media statement, and a report by IOL.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Constitutional Court of South Africa is the supreme constitutional court established by the Constitution of South Africa, and is the apex court in the South African judicial system, with general j…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_Court_of_South_…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regula…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_California
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He wa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonin_Scalia
+ 4 more evidence sources
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Claim 7: “The OCJ has over the years issued public warnings and media statements about at least five separate incidents involving individuals allegedly impersonating prominent judges and judicial officers.”
CORROBORATED
Both Timeslive and web search results explicitly state that the OCJ has issued warnings about at least five separate incidents of judicial impersonation.
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web search NEUTRAL — The ocj head office. Provincial Offices. Regional Court Presidents.Tweets. Facebook. The South African Judiciary.
https://www.judiciary.org.za/index.php/contact-us/the-ocj-he…
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web search NEUTRAL — The OCJ has over the years issued public warnings and media statements about at least five separate incidents involving individuals allegedly impersonating prominent judges and judicial officers.
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-08-23-pub…
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web search NEUTRAL — The OCJ has urged the public and media to verify communications purporting to come from judges after an individual allegedly impersonated Eastern Cape Acting Judge President Zamani Nhlangulela.
https://iol.co.za/news/politics/2026-08-24-ocj-warns-public-…
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 8: “The office identified the cellphone number allegedly used by the impersonator as 072 910 6073, which it said was registered on WhatsApp under the name “Acting Judge President Zamani Nhlangulela”.”
CORROBORATED
The specific phone number 072 910 6073 and the WhatsApp name 'Acting Judge President Zamani Nhlangulela' are explicitly mentioned in Timeslive and multiple web search results.
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web search NEUTRAL — An impersonator is allegedly using Acting Judge President Zamani Nhlangulela’s profile picture and a WhatsApp number registered under his title, prompting an OCJ public warning. Image: Judges Matter.
https://iol.co.za/news/politics/2026-08-24-ocj-warns-public-…
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web search NEUTRAL — The office identified the cellphone number allegedly used by the impersonator as 072 910 6073, which it said was registered on WhatsApp under the name “Acting Judge President Zamani Nhlangulela”.
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-08-23-pub…
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web search NEUTRAL — The OCJ warned the public not to fall prey to this impersonator and to be aware that misrepresenting a state of affairs, knowing that it is not true, to the prejudice of someone else is fraud. “The ma…
https://thebulrushes.com/2026/08/23/ocj-warns-public-about-s…
+ 1 more evidence source
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.