The national office of the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) on Friday rejected a request by the organisation’s Gauteng branch to investigate Sunday Times editor Mondli Makhanya.
”We reject the call — it has never even been discussed,” said national Sanco spokesperson Dumisani Mthalane. ”The general secretary doesn’t know anything about it.”
Mthalane, who is a member of Sanco’s national working committee, said the call came from a group that exists parallel to the official provincial Sanco structure in Gauteng. ”It’s not even a formal structure — it’s just a group of people who sit under the tree and call themselves a structure,” he said. ”We will be following it up.”
In a statement on Thursday, Sanco Gauteng said it had formally requested that Makhanya be investigated by the National Prosecuting Authority for not applying for amnesty from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This stemmed from Makhanya’s alleged time as a member of a self-defence unit in KwaZulu-Natal in the late 1980s to early 1990s, they said.
According to the Sanco website, the names of the Gauteng chairperson and secretary are different to those on the statement calling for the probe.
The request for the probe follows reports by the Sunday Times that Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang was an alcoholic and convicted thief, leading to widespread media coverage and debate. The African National Congress-led government and President Thabo Mbeki have stood behind Tshabalala-Msimang.
The NPA confirmed receiving the faxed request on Friday, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported. — Sapa