The South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) says it will write to President Cyril Ramaphosa regarding the bribery allegations leveled against Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe.
Mantashe is alleged to have bribed two Sunday World journalists to not publish a story on his alleged extramarital relationship with a student. The article quotes Mantashe as admitting to the bribes. However, he has since retracted that statement saying he never actually paid the bribe.
SANEF has given Mantashe seven days to clarify his statement under oath.
SANEF Chairperson, Mahlatse Mahlase says the President needs to take this matter seriously.
“We are going to communicate with the President’s office. If you’ve got an allegation of a Minister trying to suppress the truth, that is quite worrying for us and we think that within the leadership of the President, he then must also pay attention to this matter. It’s about his cabinet taking seriously media freedom. It’s about his cabinet committing itself to a free flow of information in South Africa, which is quite critical. It’s about dealing with corruption because bribery is also a criminal offence.”
SANEF LETTER GWEDE MANTASHE FINAL (002) (Text)
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