Mantashe Morally Compromised, But Legally Safe
IS KILLING A STORY A CRIME IN SA?
African National Congress Chairperson Gwede Mantashe is not guilty of any crime.
The liberation movement's top six honcho is undeniably morally compromised, following revelations of his alleged 'zoo' affair, where a so-called slay queen labeled him a tiger in bed.
Mantashe, who is currently Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, a position once occupied by a former minister who found himself caught up in a similar scandal involving an alleged request for him to be sent images of a C.L.I.T, is definitely no saint, but cannot be said to be a criminal.
Even if he did pay those journalists, and that's a big "if," since he is now refuting allegedly admitting to paying for a story 'to be killed,' this does not make him at odds with the law - at least not South African law.
For a bit of a background,
less than 10 years ago, a friend and colleague, Sizwe sama Yende, found himself trending over a 'Christmas Gift.'
Thank God this was before the vicious version of social media, what we've come to know as Black Twitter - The Draggers and Fetchers.
Yende's controversy was that he received money to allegedly 'kill' a story, and he took that money to a police station.
Some in the media felt this move to be petty while others thought it was self-righteous.
Factional leaders of the ANC in the province even accused him of rejecting the money because he wanted to bring down the party leadership.
In short, few people within politics and media believed rejecting the money was a noble act.
However, Yende himself stated that he could not sell his soul for a 'mere' R5 000. Perhaps, that could be the reason Uncle Gwizzy allegedly upped the recently publicised offer to a not-so-mere R70 000 to whomever he is alleged to have paid.
If there's any lesson any politician could have learned from the Yende saga back in 2010 it could be that you should never try to buy the soul of a journalist for a mere R5 000.
But why am I bringing out the Yende case, now? Precedence.
I noted with sadness as Minister Mantashe entered panic mode and started issuing statements that make him appear like a liar.
Yes, opposition parties called for the man to hand himself over to the police while some called for a parliamentary committee to be established to investigate the matter.
These legal threats left the proud Mantashe in a corner of vulnerability, marked with child-like panicking and issuing of unnecessary statements.
What Mantashe should have done was seek out the best PR people in the country.
This mess would have long been sorted out.
Or he could have simply confided in his Top Six colleague, David Dabede Mabuza, our country's Deputy President.
Mabuza, formerly a premier of Mpumalanga and ANC chairman in that province, once found himself in the middle of a similar scandal.
The City Press journalist, Yende, accused a spokesman in Mabuza's office of trying to bribe their way out of a potentially damaging media report.
That's where he was offered the infamous Christmas Gift.
The money was not an allegation, as the spokesman, Mabutho Sithole, admitted in court to having given Yende the money.
First things first. Don't deny. Just call it s gift, like Sithole did.
Secondly, presiding officer in the matter, Acting Magistrate (at the time - now a judge) Erwin Sithole (not related to spokesman), made a ruling that our courts have yet to set aside, if they ever will.
If not, law enforcement agencies have no right to even think of questioning Minister Mantashe.
The public should also understand that while Mantashe appears morally bankrupt, it should be a crime to label him a criminal, until a court so pronounces.
The Nelspruit Magistrate's Court ruled that paying a journalist to write or not to write a story was in itself not a crime.
He cited that newspapers carried a lot of paid-for content.
These included adverts and advertorials.
Now, an advertorial differs from an advert in that it comes in the form of a story.
It is PR, and most readers can't differentiate between a 'real' story and an advertorial.
Most newspapers rely on advertorials to thrive, simply because one client can pay hundreds of thousands to occupy two or four full pages in your newspaper.
Magistrate Sithole saw no difference between what was called a payment to withhold a story and a payment to write a story that could otherwise not be true.
This damning ruling left many journalists reeling.
From that day we understood that taking a Christmas Gift to a police station could be a waste of time.
The court ordered Yende to collect his R5 000 as no crime had been committed.
The last time I sat down for dinner with Yende, which is about two years ago, he had not collected his money from the evidence room.
It is a dilemma that journalists find themselves in.
Professionally, it is unethical to receive money in order to hush a story.
Morally, it is not good looking for someone at a minister level to pay hush money.
But legally, let him go. He is a made G.
~ ISSUED By Kgoshii Tshwarelo Mogakane, Founding Director of 4th Industrial Media. Mogakane is a former editor and director at African Eye News Service and former Chairman of the Mpumalanga Media Forum
African National Congress Chairperson Gwede Mantashe is not guilty of any crime.
The liberation movement's top six honcho is undeniably morally compromised, following revelations of his alleged 'zoo' affair, where a so-called slay queen labeled him a tiger in bed.
Mantashe, who is currently Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, a position once occupied by a former minister who found himself caught up in a similar scandal involving an alleged request for him to be sent images of a C.L.I.T, is definitely no saint, but cannot be said to be a criminal.
Even if he did pay those journalists, and that's a big "if," since he is now refuting allegedly admitting to paying for a story 'to be killed,' this does not make him at odds with the law - at least not South African law.
For a bit of a background,
less than 10 years ago, a friend and colleague, Sizwe sama Yende, found himself trending over a 'Christmas Gift.'
Thank God this was before the vicious version of social media, what we've come to know as Black Twitter - The Draggers and Fetchers.
Yende's controversy was that he received money to allegedly 'kill' a story, and he took that money to a police station.
Some in the media felt this move to be petty while others thought it was self-righteous.
Factional leaders of the ANC in the province even accused him of rejecting the money because he wanted to bring down the party leadership.
In short, few people within politics and media believed rejecting the money was a noble act.
However, Yende himself stated that he could not sell his soul for a 'mere' R5 000. Perhaps, that could be the reason Uncle Gwizzy allegedly upped the recently publicised offer to a not-so-mere R70 000 to whomever he is alleged to have paid.
If there's any lesson any politician could have learned from the Yende saga back in 2010 it could be that you should never try to buy the soul of a journalist for a mere R5 000.
But why am I bringing out the Yende case, now? Precedence.
I noted with sadness as Minister Mantashe entered panic mode and started issuing statements that make him appear like a liar.
Yes, opposition parties called for the man to hand himself over to the police while some called for a parliamentary committee to be established to investigate the matter.
These legal threats left the proud Mantashe in a corner of vulnerability, marked with child-like panicking and issuing of unnecessary statements.
What Mantashe should have done was seek out the best PR people in the country.
This mess would have long been sorted out.
Or he could have simply confided in his Top Six colleague, David Dabede Mabuza, our country's Deputy President.
Mabuza, formerly a premier of Mpumalanga and ANC chairman in that province, once found himself in the middle of a similar scandal.
The City Press journalist, Yende, accused a spokesman in Mabuza's office of trying to bribe their way out of a potentially damaging media report.
That's where he was offered the infamous Christmas Gift.
The money was not an allegation, as the spokesman, Mabutho Sithole, admitted in court to having given Yende the money.
First things first. Don't deny. Just call it s gift, like Sithole did.
Secondly, presiding officer in the matter, Acting Magistrate (at the time - now a judge) Erwin Sithole (not related to spokesman), made a ruling that our courts have yet to set aside, if they ever will.
If not, law enforcement agencies have no right to even think of questioning Minister Mantashe.
The public should also understand that while Mantashe appears morally bankrupt, it should be a crime to label him a criminal, until a court so pronounces.
The Nelspruit Magistrate's Court ruled that paying a journalist to write or not to write a story was in itself not a crime.
He cited that newspapers carried a lot of paid-for content.
These included adverts and advertorials.
Now, an advertorial differs from an advert in that it comes in the form of a story.
It is PR, and most readers can't differentiate between a 'real' story and an advertorial.
Most newspapers rely on advertorials to thrive, simply because one client can pay hundreds of thousands to occupy two or four full pages in your newspaper.
Magistrate Sithole saw no difference between what was called a payment to withhold a story and a payment to write a story that could otherwise not be true.
This damning ruling left many journalists reeling.
From that day we understood that taking a Christmas Gift to a police station could be a waste of time.
The court ordered Yende to collect his R5 000 as no crime had been committed.
The last time I sat down for dinner with Yende, which is about two years ago, he had not collected his money from the evidence room.
It is a dilemma that journalists find themselves in.
Professionally, it is unethical to receive money in order to hush a story.
Morally, it is not good looking for someone at a minister level to pay hush money.
But legally, let him go. He is a made G.
~ ISSUED By Kgoshii Tshwarelo Mogakane, Founding Director of 4th Industrial Media. Mogakane is a former editor and director at African Eye News Service and former Chairman of the Mpumalanga Media Forum
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