Minister Bheki Cele gave an update while performing an oversight visit at KwaMashu, in KwaZulu-Natal, as the country marked its first day of social grants collection for April. “In three days, we arrested 1,108 people. We will continue to nudge them towards compliance. We will push them when the need comes. The regulations that are there must be respected,” he said.

Bheki Cele said it was concerning that there were people who were still not complying with regulations under the national lockdown. He said law enforcement officers would not hesitate to act against those who deliberately disregarded the law.

In those arrests, a Pretoria father was arrested at the weekend for allegedly abducting his son and ignoring rules around the movement of children of separated parents during the national lockdown. The man is accused of forcefully removing the 14-year-old boy from his mother’s care on Sunday.

In an effort to enforce restrictions, the government made it clear that during the 21-day lockdown, those who are co-parenting were not allowed to move children between homes.