iafrica.com
*Wa Afrika set up - report* *Staff Reporter, iafrica.com, 13 August 2010*A new twist in the tale of arrested Sunday Times investigative journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika has emerged.
Mabutho Sitole, the head spokesperson to Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza, reportedly admitted that he had personally tipped off journalists about the existence of the letter purported to be the premier's resignation.
African Eye News Service also reports that at least two journalists received a copy of the letter in PDF format from Sitole while the premier's office was lodging criminal charges of fraud and defeating the ends of justice against Wa Afrika and Nelspruit councillor Victor Mlimi.
The charges have since been changed to fraud, forgery and uttering.The letter came to Wa Afrika's attention via a confidential fax to Mlimi, who then passed it on to the journalist. Wa Afrika proceeded to pass the letter onto another Sunday Times journalist who asked Sithole to verify it.
"I knew immediately that it was fake. The signature is nothing like the premier's real one. I told them it was part of a plot to destabilize the province and smear the premier," Sithole told the news service.
This led the Sunday Times to decide against publishing the story after receiving the same denials from the presidency and the ANC.
According to AENS, Sithole proceeded to phone Sowetan journalist Alfred Moselakgomo the next day, 25 July, to tip him off about the existence of the letter. Sitole also emailed a copy of the letter to The Sowetan's Mpumalanga bureau chief Riot Hlatshwayo as well as Sowetan reporter Kingdom Mabuza on Monday 26 July.
"We hadn't even heard rumours about the issue until the tip-off on the Sunday, and would not have had enough evidence to publish anything if we hadn't received the letter from Mabutho," Hlatshwayo told African Eye News Service.
Hlatshwayo then helped write a story about the allegations and sent the PDF copy of the fake resignation letter to the City Press, Beeld, The Witness and Jacaranda FM, as well as investigative news agency African Eye News Service. He also spread the word to media workers in the local SABC news team.
The SABC and City Press reacted to the news by publishing stories on the unconfirmed resignation and Mabuza's statements that the publicity was part of an attempt to see him and the provincial administration replaced.
Sithole refused to tell AENS why Wa Africa had been targeted for arrest when he had not circulated the letter or written about it. He also refused to explain why the journalists who had circulated it and bylined published copies of the allegations remained uncharged.
"Regardless of how the journalists got the letter, there is a plot, and journalists are part of it. We have evidence. But this whole matter is now sub judice and I will not comment further [out of] respect for legal process," Sithole told AENS.
His refusal extended to any comment on if evidence against Wa Afrika was linked to information on the media to which Mabuza had access, through surveillance by intelligence agencies. The premier had reportedly previously confirmed receiving weekly reports on "troublemakers" in the province, including reports about "people who say things".
"I checked with [Mabuza] and he will not tell me yes or no. He said he is not going to tell me, because the information is classified," Sitole told AENS.
The Sunday Times confirmed to AENS that Wa Afrika had been investigating why the province hadn't pressed charges in the case of fraud against Lefika Emerging Equity who wrote a fraudulent letter to First National Bank.
Lafika's owners include Kaizer Chiefs general manager Bobby Motaung and Mpumalanga tycoon Herbert Theledi. The letter was written under the Nelspruit (Mbombela) municipality's letterhead. The municipality spokesperson who announced that he would lodge a fraud case with police was killed in front of his teenage son in 2009.
Both Lefika and Motaung repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.Susan Smuts, the Sunday Times legal spokesperson, confirmed to AENS that Wa Afrika claimed to have been followed and barely escaped a kidnap attempt in the province in April. City Press journalist Sizwe samaYende is under 24-hour protection after dodging a gunman who ambushed him at his Mbombela home last Friday.
The Hawks have confirmed that Wa Afrika's case and Mohlala's murder are under investigation.
Wa Africa and Mlimi are out on R5000 mail each, pending further investigation. Their passports are being held and they are scheduled to reappear in court on 8 November.
Eric van den Berg confirmed to African Eye News Service that the Hawks had agreed to return Wa Afrika's notebooks and research files, which were seized from the journalist's residence withough a search warrant immediately after his arrest and were turned over to crime intelligence offices in Mpumalanga for "analysis". This includes material dating back 11 years, and include notes on his investigations into the arms deal, Travelgate and other scandals.
The South African National Editors Forum has expressed their concern that the identity of whistleblowers and confidential sources unrelated to the fraudulent letter case may have been revealed.
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