Johannesburg - Tabloid newspaper, Daily Sun, on Monday said it stands by its story alleging EFF leader Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi raped a 23-year-old woman.
On Sunday, the paper claimed that Gauteng police were investigating a case of rape, where Ndlozi allegedly raped a woman during a party in Sandton.
On Monday, when other media houses started following up on the story and there was social media buzz for Ndlozi to account, Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters cleared Ndlozi, saying he is not a person of interest in the rape case.
“The management of the SAPS in Gauteng has noted with worry, a news article in the Daily Sun, published on April 11, 2021, wherein Economic Freedom Front leader Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi is accused of rape.
“We can confirm that the case of rape that is in reference was indeed opened and is under investigation. While police are not at liberty to disclose or confirm identities of victims/complainants and suspects, we can further confirm that Dr Ndlozi is not a suspect in this case. Police hereby place it on record that the reporter behind this article in reference has not sought the comment of the Gauteng provincial head of corporate communication on this matter, even after he was advised to do so.
“Instead, Amos Mananyetso went ahead and published his story based on, according to the article, the victim's statement, a legal and confidential document that can only have been obtained through unlawful and unethical means,” Peters said, in a response sent to one of the media houses that was querying the case.
Mapula Nkosi, the paper’s editor, disputed the statement by the SAPS, saying efforts were made to contact them.
“It is therefore untrue that Daily Sun did not contact the police prior to publication,” Nkosi said.
She further slammed the police for trying to bully them.
“Daily Sun stands by our story and condemns the attack by the police on the people’s paper and our journalist.”
The accusation against Ndlozi left the EFF fuming, with its spokesperson Vuyani Pambo saying the tabloid should be taken to task for allowing it to be used for political ends.
“What this means is that the Daily Sun, News24, and Naspers, published a defamatory article without verification of facts. The Daily Sun, which is under News24 and Koos Bekker’s stable of racist and establishment media, deliberately defamed Commissar Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, knowing very well that not even a withdrawal of the article will lessen the damage done to his reputation. In this regard, the EFF will fully support the legal action against the Daily Sun for deliberately defaming Commissar Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, through illegally acquired documents.
“The leadership of the EFF is fully aware that there are coordinated attempts to criminalise leaders of the EFF through false allegations of crime, including rape allegations.
“There are embedded elements in with the State working with the establishment that are hellbent on linking EFF leadership to crime because they think such will prevent the unavoidable meteoric rise of the EFF to political power here in South Africa. We call on all leaders of the EFF to be on alert because the enemy is out to get us,” Pambo said in a statement.
Pambo claimed, without producing evidence, that the Daily Sun is part of media houses who are determined to shield president Cyril Ramaphosa from the party’s scrutiny.
Nkosi did not address the claims that her paper is batting for Ramaphosa by smearing all those calling him to account.
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
Political Bureau