{
  "id": 14394429,
  "title": "OCJ warns of scammer impersonating Justice Ngcukaitobi",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/ocj-warns-of-scammer-impersonating-justice-ngcukaitobi",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-14T07:27:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IOL",
    "slug": "iol",
    "url": "https://iol.co.za/news/politics/2026-10-14-ocj-warns-of-scammer-impersonating-justice-ngcukaitobi/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) has issued a warning about a scam involving a person posing as Acting Constitutional Court Justice Tembeka Ngcukaitobi. The impersonator is using Ngcukaitobi's name and photograph, and is sending messages from the WhatsApp number 079 139 2620, which displays the name \"Justice T Ngcukaitobi\". The OCJ has advised the public to avoid interacting with this individual and to report the matter to the appropriate authorities. The organization has emphasized that fraudulently representing facts in a way that harms someone else is a punishable offense. The OCJ has urged the public and the media to double-check communications purportedly issued by judges before accepting them as genuine. Members of the public and the media are being advised to reach out to the OCJ to verify the authenticity of any communication, directive, article, or social media post that claims to be from a judge. This warning comes after a previous alert issued by the OCJ on October 7 regarding an individual impersonating Deputy President Justice Dumisani Zondi of the Supreme Court of Appeal. The repeated warnings show the OCJ's concern over fraudulent messages being disseminated under the names of judicial officers. The organization has urged the public to contact their office to confirm the authenticity of communications that purport to come from judges.",
  "summary": "The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) has warned the public about an individual impersonating Acting Constitutional Court Justice Tembeka Ngcukaitobi via WhatsApp. According to The Citizen, the impersonator uses a profile picture of the judge's likeness and a WhatsApp profile registered as “Justice T Ngcukaitobi” linked to the mobile number 079 139 2620.\n\nThe OCJ is urging members of the public and the media to contact the office to verify the authenticity of any communications, articles, or social media posts attributed to a judge. The OCJ noted that misrepresenting facts to someone else's prejudice is fraud and stated the matter will be reported to the relevant authorities.\n\nThis warning follows a recent impersonation scam targeting Supreme Court of Appeal Deputy President Justice Dumisani Zondi. The Citizen also reports that in June 2025, the OCJ warned of fake social media accounts impersonating Chief Justice Mandisa Maya.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Citizen",
        "title": "Fake Justice Tembeka Ngcukaitobi WhatsApp scam sparks fresh alarm in judiciary",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/fake-justice-tembeka-ngcukaitobi-whatsapp-scam-sparks-fresh-alarm-in",
        "published": "2026-10-14T02:33:08.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "IOL",
        "title": "Digital law expert sounds the alarm after children as young as 9 are exposed to porn on WhatsApp",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/digital-law-expert-sounds-the-alarm-after-children-as-young-as-9-are",
        "published": "2026-10-14T04:05:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}