Minister dismayed at refusal to apologise for reputational damage

12 Jun 2012

Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande, has expressed shock and dismay that a national newspaper editor has refused to apologise for the embarrassment and damage caused to his integrity and reputation by an inaccurate and false article the newspaper had published about him yesterday (see Sowetan report).

"The article carried in the newspaper, which the newspaper further elaborated on through a cartoon, had no factual basis and all I am asking for as a form of relief for publishing lies about me is a simple apology from the newspaper but the Editor wants to dictate the relief I must accept - that I must write an article in response to the lies that were published. You cannot assault me and thereafter tell me what I must accept as relief for the pain," Minister Nzimande said.

The Minister had never in any speech or discussion made reference to political analysts, referred to them as dogs or insulted them in any manner and could therefore not make sense of why an article was published accusing him of such.

He said on May 31 he had made reference to wild dogs when he was referring to the behavior and approach of the media in South Africa. On that day, Minister Nzimande had said that the biggest threat to media freedom in South Africa was the lack of diversity where all media organisations shared the same perspective and were consumed with the same issues. He went on to call for a review of the foreign ownership of the media in the country, and to also demonopolise the industry.

"I had even said that instead of critiquing government, the media simply criticises all the time, and this lack of diversity was further demonstrated by the approach to the publishing of the ‘Spear' painting. They hunt like a pack of wild dogs, and there is no diversity," the Minister said.

In the article published yesterday, against which the Minister is lodging a complaint with the Press Ombudsman, the newspaper alleges that Minister Nzimande called political analysts dogs, further implying that he was fanning hostility and possible violence against analysts. The newspaper published the article without verifying the facts and accuracy of the accusations that have now been read by many South Africans who have no way of proving their authenticity.

Statement issued by Vuyelwa Qinga, Department of Higher Education and Training, June 12 2012

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