Seventeen worshippers were arrested in Pretoria West on Friday when police found them congregating and praying, contravening the Covid-19 lockdown regulations.  

Police spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo said the men were arrested by members of the Tactical Response Team (TRT), who had been conducting patrols in the area when they were alerted to the group which was contravening regulations. 

“The members responded to the complaint and found a group of people converged in a building at Retief Street, Pretoria West. The group were preparing to worship when they were discovered,” said Naidoo. 

He said the 17 suspects would face charges of contravening the Disaster Management Act regulations as they relate to the Covid-19 lockdown. 

The suspects are still in police custody as the SAPS waits on confirmation on their nationalities from the Department of Home Affairs.

“The suspects will be either be released on bail, issued with a fine or taken court on Tuesday depending on the outcome of the preliminary investigations,” he said.

However, on Sunday Naidoo and Police Minister Bheki Cele confirmed that a video of Muslim worshippers being arrested which went viral on social media on Saturday was not of the Pretoria West incident as previously thought but rather of another incident that occurred on Saturday in Masibekela in the Mbuzini area in Mpumalanga.

The video was confirmed by the SAPS as depicting the arrest of about 24 congregants after they too formed part of what appeared to be a religious gathering in Masibekela.

"The comments which can be heard at the end of the video about Prophet Mohammed is rather unfortunate and unacceptable that someone could make such utterances. On this note the SAPS management has directed that this matter too be investigated and the person/s who uttered such comment/s about the Prophet be identified and brought to book," Naidoo said.

Minister Cele has also issued an apology to the Muslim community for the blasphemous remarks during the arrest, the police said in a statement.

"Minister Cele wishes to emphasize 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."