Avinash Ramkistan
A DURBAN man who threatened judicial officials and law enforcement officers with “violence”, “death” and “bloodshed” through social media was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment in the Durban Regional Court on Tuesday.
Avinash Ramkistan, 40, of Glen Ashley, was arrested and charged with several counts of intimidation, crimen injuria, contravention of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Act and contravention of the Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020, in March 2024.
It was alleged at the time by the State, represented by prosecutor Vaneshree Moodley, that Ramkistan, who owned an insurance company, made the threats against an acting high court judge, prosecutors, and police officers, among others, by sending emails and voice recordings, as well as posts shared on Facebook.
During the trial, one of the State witnesses, acting high court judge Nomusa Khuzwayo testified how she was left feeling insulted, embarrassed and fearful after Ramkistan accused her of being “fake”, took to social media to slander her and made threats to incite violence, after she dismissed two of his court applications.
