Mpumalanga premier David Mabuza laid the forgery charges that resulted in Sunday Times reporter Mzilikazi wa Afrika’s arrest,
the newspaper reported on Saturday.
Mabuza’s spokesperson Mabutho Sithole told the paper the premier had laid the complaint at the Kabokweni police station on Monday in Nelspruit.
“He [Mabuza] complained to the police here at Kabokweni after we got information that there were people in possession of a letter bearing his name and signature,” Sithole said.
Wa Afrika was arrested outside the Sunday Times offices in Rosebank, Johannesburg, on Wednesday by members of the Hawks special police unit.
He was apparently arrested for the possession of what police claim was a fraudulent letter of resignation from Mabuza to President Jacob Zuma.
According to the newspaper, Wa Afrika was arrested minutes after its lawyer Renier Spies negotiated with Kabokweni station commander Lieutenant Colonel Chris Mabasa at the Rosebank police station not to arrest the journalist at his office, but rather to allow him to hand himself over at the station.
“In the meantime Mabasa contacted a ‘general’ whose further particulars are unknown to me, via his cellphone … The general was on his way to the station and wanted to join us,” Spies said.
Minutes later, Wa Afrika was arrested outside the offices on his way to the police station.
Spies said he was convinced there was “political pressure on Mabasa to affect an arrest”.
This was also apparently borne out by the line of questioning police adopted when interrogating Wa Afrika.
Criminal or political case?
“I was asked whether I was directly or indirectly involved in discrediting senior ANC office bearers in Mpumalanga,” Wa Afrika was quoted saying.
“That made me wonder whether the police were investigating a criminal or a political case. They also wanted to know who are the big politicians I’m working with behind the scenes. This made me conclude the police were sent by politicians to harass and intimidate me.”
TimesLive reported on Friday that Wa Afrika was interrogated at 2am on Thursday and was asked by a General Mapiyane, reportedly second in command in Mpumalanga’s crime intelligence, why he had written a story claiming Mabuza had resigned.
“I told him to search on Google to see if he will find such a story. He told me that he didn’t like my attitude,” Wa Afrika was quoted as saying.
Another police official, a Warrant Officer Molapo, reportedly asked him why he was writing about Mpumalanga “as there were eight other provinces to write about”.
Wa Afrika also alleged that Hawks spokesperson Musa Zondi went to his home to collect his cellphone, although his lawyer Eric van der Berg said he would collect it.
“I want to know what a guy who is not a police official was doing with my phone?” asked Wa Afrika.
Wa Afrika co-authored an article last Sunday on a document police national commissioner General Bheki Cele allegedly signed, which related to a R500-million lease agreement for police headquarters in Pretoria.
The publication reported that this was a lease agreement that had not gone out to tender as required for expenditure exceeding R500 000.
At a briefing convened to clarify the “incorrect and worse, misleading” article, Cele told reporters in Pretoria on Tuesday that the document was not a lease agreement, but a “needs assessment”.
Sunday Times editor Ray Hartley said the paper had a copy of the signed lease in its possession.
It also published a scanned copy of the resignation letter thought to be at the centre of Wa Afrika’s woes.
Wa Afrika’s arrest came a day after Cele called him a “very shady journalist”, and when asked if he would take action against the reporter, he replied: “Time will tell”. – Sapa