South African Police Minister, Bheki Cele has apologised to the Muslim community for blasphemous remarks made by an officer towards prophet Muhammed when arresting congregants who had converged at a Mosque to pray on Friday.

Cele says the remarks made by the officer which can be heard at the end of a video that went viral on social media is unfortunate and that the matter will be investigated and the officer who made the remarks will be identified.

“It is rather unfortunate and it is unacceptable that someone could make such an utterance, this matter too will be investigated and the person who made the comment about the Prophet will be identified and brought to book,” he said.

The South Africa Police Service in Pretoria also says they arrested 41 congregants in two separate religious gatherings.

In the first incident, members of the SAPS Tactical Response Team(TRT) arrested 17 men on Friday, 24 April 2020 at approximately 13:00. The congregants had converged in a building in Pretoria West in what appeared to be a religious gathering.

All 7 suspects were arrested and kept in police custody over the weekend.

“They will be released on bail, issued with a fine and or taken to court on Tuesday, 28 April 2020, depending on the outcome of the preliminary investigations,” said SAPS.

The second incident, 24 congregants were arrested on Friday, 25 April 2020 after they too formed a part of what appeared to be a religious gathering in an area called Masibekela in the Mbuzini policing jurisdiction of Mpumalanga and not Pretoria West.

“Contrary to various reports, it was these arrests, and not Pretoria West, that were captured on the video which went viral on social media platforms,” they noted.

In both incidents, the congregants are alleged to have contravened the Regulations of the Disaster Management Act.

Minister Cele has however, called on all church leaders to discourage gatherings and comply with the Disaster Management Regulations Act which are being implemented to combat the COVID-19 virus.

“These regulations are in place to ensure that all people in South Africa are safe and protected against the virus, religious leaders should discourage gatherings,” he said.