The ANC in Mpumalanga is determined to track down the creator of a Facebook site called Mpumalanga Province ANC (sic) where fans have been writing uncensored, critical comments about Premier David Mabuza and other party bigwigs.
Provincial ANC spokesperson Paul Mbenyane confirmed that steps were being taken to “uncover” the site’s creator. “We are taking it seriously, as the site uses the ANC logo and pretends to be the ANC’s. This is a crime, but we haven’t gone to the police yet,” said Mbenyane.
In an interview the creator describes the site, which has 574 fans as opposed to only 27 on the provincial ANC’s official Facebook site, as a “provincial WikiLeaks”.
“This is the new voice of the province. I created this page so people can know what’s happening in this province. All I write here is factual,” he said. “This account will never be shut down, chief. Those are just bluffs and cheap threats. There’s no one I don’t know and don’t speak to.”
On the site on February 24, the creator wrote that he was at Premier David Mabuza’s farmhouse in Barberton preparing for the state of the province address. He claimed to be drinking whisky with the premier.
On February 3 a note was posted that a well-known official spokesperson would be promoted for protecting corruption in the province. Early this month the official in question was promoted.
The site indicates that its creator is “from Driekoppies”, a rural village in the sprawling Nkomazi area that borders Swaziland and Mozambique. Provincial ANC secretary Lucky Ndinisa said he had tried to conduct his own investigation into the site, but was unable to identify who was behind it. “I even went to a zone meeting in Nkomazi to try to find the person, because we believe he’s a member of the ANC and attends meetings,” said Ndinisa.
The creator said he was not intimidated by the threats he had received via the site. “Being murdered is not a threat. I’ll be waiting in hell for them,” he said. — African Eye News Service