The Sunday Times should not allow itself to be used by politicians and opposition parties, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said on Wednesday.
“[The CWU] in general is appalled by [the] Sunday Times newspaper editor and its investigative journalists in their tabloid reporting towards the minister of communications, comrade Dina Pule,” union president Cecil Mokgantsho said in a statement.
He urged the newspaper not to allow politicians and opposition parties to use it to report “twisted or screwed news” about public figures.
On Monday, the press ombudsman said it would investigate a complaint by the communications department against the Sunday Times.
On 27 May, department spokesman Wisani Ngobeni, a former journalist at the Sunday Times, said the department had lodged a complaint against the newspaper with the Press Council of South Africa, which includes the ombudsman.
The Press Council replied it had no powers to investigate, as unethical conduct by the editor was not covered by the press code. Only the publication could deal with that matter.
Ngobeni had written to the council asking it to investigate the conduct of Sunday Times editor Phylicia Oppelt. This was in reaction to a report that she gave the opposition Democratic Alliance documents to hand to parliament’s ethics committee, which was conducting an inquiry into Pule.
Pule believes the newspaper is conducting a smear campaign against her, to get her fired or force her to resign, because its “handlers” are after a tender for set-top boxes. The boxes are required for the move from analogue to digital television broadcasting.
She has said previously the allegations began last year, after the department hosted the ICT Indaba in Cape Town. Millions in sponsorship fees were reportedly drawn from the account of an event organiser she was allegedly romantically linked to. She has denied these claims.
Mokgantsho appealed to everyone, including journalists and editors, to allow investigations into the reports on Pule.
“And we know that the findings against comrade Pule will be in the public domain, therefore we urge [the] Sunday Times editor and its journalists to be patient,” he said. — Sapa
