President Jacob Zuma’s criticism of media reports about his love child are “outrageous”, the Press Council of South Africa said on Wednesday.
To suggest that by carrying out its public duty it was, as Zuma put it, questioning the child’s right to exist, was an “unwarranted attack” on the press, the council’s chairperson, Raymond Louw, said in a statement.
“One cannot conceive any such inferences being drawn from what has been published or broadcast by the media about this matter.”
Louw was responding to a statement issued by Zuma earlier, in which he acknowledged fathering a baby girl with Sonono Khoza, daughter of soccer boss Irvin Khoza, following a report in the Sunday Times.
While Zuma said he respected and upheld the freedom of the media, his concepts of media freedom were wildly at variance with practices in democratic countries throughout the world, Louw said.
He urged Zuma to take his “serious accusations” to the Press Ombudsman or Broadcasting Complaints Commission.
In his statement, Zuma argued that naming the child’s parents would have serious long-term implications for the girl. It amounted to exploitation under the Child Care Act and Children’s Act, as the media was making money from its reports.
Meanwhile, the latest chapter in Zuma’s sex life should now be closed, the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) said on Thursday.
“The ANC Youth League welcomes the statement of the ANC and country President Jacob Zuma on his issues that really are private.
“We believe that the media will not continue with the sensationalism around the whole issue,” the ANCYL said in a statement.
“The ANCYL will not be agreeing to discuss private issues of elders in the public discourse, and hope that it is now a closed chapter.”
The ANCYL said it would no longer entertain any discussion in the media around the matter.
“In line with what is said above, the ANCYL will not take any media enquiries concerning the private life of the president of the ANC and country, whom we hold in high regard, and applaud his unquestionable commitment to bettering livelihoods of all people.
“The chapter is closed.” — Sapa