SA top judge expected criticism over Covid-19 vaccine view

South Africa's top judge says he is unfazed by criticism after a video of him falsely suggesting that Covid-19 vaccines could alter people’s DNA and insert satanic elements within them was widely shared online.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng said that he expected a backlash for the comments he made on Thursday at a prayer event.

He told reporters that he was concerned about a report he saw that suggested that the Covid-19 vaccine would be mandatory. 

"It must be voluntary... You can't impose a vaccine on people. Why should you?" news site EWN quotes the judge as saying.

His opinion on Covid-19 vaccines has divided South Africans.

There have been concerns that rich countries may be buying up most of the newly developed vaccines, not leaving enough for countries in Africa, although both Nigeria and Uganda have said they have ordered millions of doses.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: Eyewitness News/Twitter