Africa-Press – South-Africa. Two weeks after the controversy surrounding Prince Mashele’s The Outsider: The Unauthorised Biography of Herman Mashaba, the ActionSA leader says he’s disappointed the author lied, but he deserved the R12.5 million.
Breaking his silence, Mashaba said he did not know why Mashele, who has since admitted to lying, denied having received funding for his book.
On Friday, 702 host Clement Manyathela aired a recording of his interaction with Mashaba, who disclosed that the biography, which has since been withdrawn by the publishers, would be republished before the end of June.
Speaking to Manyathela, Mashaba defended his decision to spend R12.5 million, stating he had experience negotiating as a successful businessman but felt that Mashele deserved it considering the work that went into its construction and production.
He said:
Mashaba said, “[The biography] was … able to capture my life from an independent perspective. That, for me, is what I really paid for, and I can tell you I am really proud of what Prince and his team did.”
Mashaba said he could not understand why Mashele failed to disclose his financial arrangement to the publishers.
“The book cover was only exposed to me a week or two before it was put out on the market… I blame myself for not having involved my lawyers to demand from the beginning the contract between him and the publisher.”
In the book’s republication, Mashaba said he and his legal team would work closely with Mashele and the publishers to ensure the agreement to release the biography is fulfilled.
The party leader clarified that the book’s royalties would go to him as initially planned, adding that he had explicitly detailed that in his contract with Mashele.
Last month, Mashele released a statement “unreservedly apologising” to Mashaba and eNCA presenter JJ Tabane for lying about the financial arrangement and claiming the project was self-funded.
News24 previously reported that Mashele admitted that he lied because of his non-disclosure contract with Mashaba, which restricted him from disclosing the R12.5 million finances he received.
Mashele’s 12.5 million fee was revealed by senior researcher and contributor to the book, Brutus Malada, after he discovered that he had not been credited for his work in the book.
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