UPDATE: SAPS National spokesman Vish Naidoo has confirmed that the arrest of Muslim worshippers in a video that has gone viral on social media occurred in Masibekela in the Mbuzini policing jurisdiction of Mpumalanga.
Pretoria - Police Minister Bheki Cele on Sunday urged leaders across various sectors of society, particularly religious leaders, to ensure a national collective and sustained effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus .
"In the first incident, members of the SAPS Tactical Response Team arrested 17 men on Friday, 24 April 2020 at approximately 13:00. This after the congregants converged in a building in Pretoria West in what appeared to be a religious gathering. In a second incident, 24 congregants were arrested after they too formed part of what appeared to be a religious gathering in an area called Masibekela in the Mbuzini policing jurisdiction of Mpumalanga.
Earlier in the week, another video clip went viral on social media depicting a man encouraging "all Muslims ... to engage in worship in congregation". Further on in the video the same man offered free legal services to anyone who might get arrested for such contravention, the police ministry said in a statement.
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