The National Assembly is appalled by false online claims that House Chairperson for Internal Arrangements, Ms Thoko Didiza, has died.

On Friday, an online satirical blog falsely reported that police had confirmed that Ms Didiza was stabbed to death at her Durban home while on holiday. Earlier another blog falsely reported that she had escaped death after her car was shot at.

Parliament urges all to exercise caution when reading these bogus online satirical blogs as they publish malicious information without any care to exercise the normal journalistic checks and balances of verifying information before it is published.

Ms Didiza is alive and well at her Pretoria home.

Issued by Parliament of the Republic of South Africa