(MISA/IFEX) – The African National Congress (ANC) has reacted angrily at a report in a South African newspaper, “The Citizen”, which claimed President Thabo Mbeki was a womaniser. “For ‘The Citizen’ to publish such trash was proof that a leopard never changes its colours,” said ANC spokesperson Smut Ngonyama. “It is publicly known and I […]
(MISA/IFEX) – The African National Congress (ANC) has reacted angrily at a report in a South African newspaper, “The Citizen”, which claimed President Thabo Mbeki was a womaniser.
“For ‘The Citizen’ to publish such trash was proof that a leopard never changes its colours,” said ANC spokesperson Smut Ngonyama.
“It is publicly known and I think we should start talking about this … I am not saying it’s scandalous. He is a womaniser,” the newspaper had quoted renowned columnist and former editor Max du Preez as saying about Mbeki.
Although the president’s office refused to comment, the ANC found the report and Du Preez’s comments malicious. “Max du Preez and his old friends have clearly embarked on a war path and such statements on the ANC are a declaration of war,” said Ngonyama.
Du Preez said he made the remarks in the context of a letter written by ANC Women’s League President Winnie Madikizela-Mandela to Deputy President Jacob Zuma, in which she denied accusing Mbeki of womanising.
Madikizela-Mandela claimed the rumours about the president had been circulating for some time at ANC headquarters, Luthuli House, and they had even reached the media.
In his statement, Ngonyama did not refer to either Madikizela-Mandela or the fact that rumours of the president’s alleged infidelity had already been printed. He accused Du Preez of “irresponsible and undermining behaviour”, which bordered on “hate speech and malicious character assassination.”
Du Preez had abused the right to freedom of expression and deliberately violated the Constitution in a way “meant to cause harm to the image of the president, the African National Congress and the country as whole,” Ngonyama persisted.
“By displaying such hogwash, ‘The Citizen’ retreated to its historical laager as a paper initiated to be the propaganda instrument of the apartheid regime,” the spokesman charged. “From Du Preez’s allegations, the ANC has learnt that amongst some sections in our society, respect and dignity is accorded only to those with a certain type of pigmentation and being black and powerful qualifies one to be the recipient of a barrage of insults and abuse,” Ngonyama said.
