Johnnic Communications, publishers of Elle magazine in South Africa, said on Tuesday it had suspended the magazine’s editor, Cynthia Vongai, pending the outcome of a disciplinary inquiry.
The suspension follows a review of events over the past two days with the publication of an article by City Press suggesting Vongai had plagiarised an article from a website called Askmen.com in her personal weekly Sowetan column.
Johnnic Communications said it prided itself on its editorial code of conduct, which required all editorial staff to uphold the values of honest and truthful reporting.
Once an internal review process had been completed, Johnnic Communications would take a formal view on Vongai’s position as editor.
In the interim, Ingrid Wood, a senior editorial Elle staffer, would act as editor. — Sapa