Recent media reports that President Thabo Mbeki had received a scathing letter from Zimbabwe opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai could be part of a disinformation campaign by sinister forces, the Presidency said on Wednesday.
Briefing the media in Cape Town, Director General in the Presidency Frank Chikane warned journalists to watch out for ”intelligence projects that get run to produce a particular outcome”.
”The world is not innocent — there are too many interests out there.”
In its last edition, the Sunday Times claimed it was in possession of a letter written by Tsvangirai to Mbeki attacking the South African president for, among other things, his lack of neutrality during Zimbabwean talks.
According to the Sunday Times, the letter was delivered via official channels and urged Mbeki to step down as mediator in the Zimbabwean talks.
Chikane said such a letter was never sent to Mbeki or to his officials.
”It does not exist as far as I’m concerned,” he said.
Asked if he had confirmed with the MDC whether Tsvangirai had written such a letter to Mbeki, Chikane said he had not seen the need to do that since he was of the view that it was the role of those media houses that published the story to check with the MDC.
Chikane then cited several instances where journalists had attributed incorrect statements on Zimbabwe mediation talks to Mbeki.
Among these was a media report on the eve of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) head of states meeting that took place in Lusaka, Zambia, in August, where it was claimed Mbeki would use the occasion to attack Britain for its role in the Zimbabwean crisis.
Presidential spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga said it was clear there was a concerted effort to undermine the SADC-mandated facilitation process through the peddling of fabrications in the media.
”What is clear is that these fabrications are focusing on demonisation of the facilitation process with the intention to prevent the possibility for a solution to the challenges in Zimbabwe.
”In this context, the media ought to remain vigilant by, amongst other ways, authenticating information, as well as greater scrutiny of the motives of those who leak information,” he said. — Sapa