South Africa’s Deputy Minister for Communication, Mr Obed Bapela, has announced that the country might demand that RIM decrypt its BlaclBerry messaging service as demanded by India, Saudi Arabia and UAE “because the service aides criminals in their activities.” The minister was speaking while officially opening the Telkom South Africa sponsored Southern Africa Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference (SATNAC) this morning.

It is not clear if the country is seriously pursuing the case seriously with RIM but the secure BlackBerry messaging service has ruffled feathers all over with even the UK police finding a problem with it during the London Riots.