{"id":75698,"date":"2024-10-29T18:06:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T18:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists"},"modified":"2024-10-29T18:06:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T18:06:00","slug":"mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists","title":{"rendered":"Mbalula threatens forensic probe in clampdown on leaks to journalists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has threatened party leaders with forensic investigations as he clamps down on leaks to the media and opposition political parties.<\/p>\n

Mbalula on Tuesday announced that the national executive committee (NEC) meeting at the weekend decided to form a permanent structure to probe leaks of their confidential meetings.<\/p>\n

Since taking over the job in 2022, Mbalula has been vocal about his displeasure at the relationship journalists have with NEC and national working committee (NWC) members. He has over time said he would make it his mission to find the culprits. His biggest concern, he said on Tuesday, was that some of the leaks were not even accurate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis permanent committee will conduct forensic audits of information leaked by NEC and NWC members involving internal ANC decisions and discussions. In most instances these discussions and decisions are distorted.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Mbalula is a former police minister, there had been fears in the party that he may use state security arms, including crime intelligence and even military intelligence, to investigate members. However, most of the NEC and NWC members are also MPs, ministers, deputy ministers and other officials so such clampdowns could be viewed as a security risk.<\/p>\n

Mbalula refused to say what mechanisms he would deploy in his probe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat one is our secret, but we are going to engage, and we have explained to you publicly that we will use forensic means to determine who in our ranks have decided to work with the media. And others even go further to brief the opposition. It’s better with the media but the opposition is another thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Asked by journalists if this forensic investigation would not infringe both the Protection of Personal Information (Popi) Act and media freedom, Mbalula said as the engine of the ANC, he has the right to defend the party.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will teach them that every party, even if it’s a security company, when it is attacked it has the right to use any measure in law to defend itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was adamant he was not focusing on the media but on ANC members who at times even distorted discussions for factional reasons. He said faceless sources would lift information that is not yet a decision of the NEC and give it to a journalist.<\/p>\n

The ANC confirmed it would appoint an integrity commission appeal structure made of up of respected elders of the party. TimesLIVE reported on Saturday the NEC had resolved this during its special meeting. This, Mbalula said, would not be a watchdog of a watchdog but a structure where those aggrieved by the recommendations of the integrity commission could appeal.<\/p>\n

Another decision taken by the weekend\u2019s NEC meeting is to accept a draft diagnostic report by Mbalula on the state of the organisation, which he said builds on those delivered by Kgalema Motlanthe and Gwede Mantashe in 1998 and 2017 respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis draft report, presented to the NEC, remains a work in progress and will be enriched through visits to various provinces and engagements with regions and branches by the secretary-general and a team led by the organising department. The final report is slated for presentation to the national general council in 2025,\u201d said Mbalula.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe special NEC deliberated on the probing question of whether recent national and provincial election results reflect a judgment on the ANC\u2019s success in fulfilling its historic mandate for a united, nonracial, nonsexist, democratic, equal and prosperous society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mbalula will be touring the country speaking to ANC branches as part of finalising the diagnostic report which will focus on the integrity of individual members of the ANC, its branches and its regions.<\/p>\n

It will also form part of the decision by the ANC to have those who wish to renew their membership or join anew write an essay or go through an interview on why they want to join the party.<\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has threatened party leaders with forensic investigations as he clamps down on leaks to the media and opposition political parties. Mbalula on Tuesday announced that the national executive committee (NEC) meeting at the weekend decided to form a permanent structure to probe leaks of their confidential meetings. Since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":75697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[274,315,275],"class_list":["post-75698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nMbalula threatens forensic probe in clampdown on leaks to journalists - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mbalula threatens forensic probe in clampdown on leaks to journalists\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – South-Africa. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has threatened party leaders with forensic investigations as he clamps down on leaks to the media and opposition political parties. Mbalula on Tuesday announced that the national executive committee (NEC) meeting at the weekend decided to form a permanent structure to probe leaks of their confidential meetings. Since […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-29T18:06:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Mbalula threatens forensic probe in clampdown on leaks to journalists\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-29T18:06:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists\"},\"wordCount\":668,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2024\/10\/Hazrati1730212566.481076.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-South-Africa\",\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists\",\"name\":\"Mbalula threatens forensic probe in clampdown on leaks to journalists - South Africa\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2024\/10\/Hazrati1730212566.481076.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-29T18:06:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2024\/10\/Hazrati1730212566.481076.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2024\/10\/Hazrati1730212566.481076.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":659,\"caption\":\"Mbalula threatens forensic probe in clampdown on leaks to journalists\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mbalula threatens forensic probe in clampdown on leaks to journalists\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/\",\"name\":\"South Africa\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mbalula threatens forensic probe in clampdown on leaks to journalists - South Africa","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mbalula threatens forensic probe in clampdown on leaks to journalists","og_description":"Africa-Press – South-Africa. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has threatened party leaders with forensic investigations as he clamps down on leaks to the media and opposition political parties. Mbalula on Tuesday announced that the national executive committee (NEC) meeting at the weekend decided to form a permanent structure to probe leaks of their confidential meetings. Since […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists","og_site_name":"South Africa","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2024-10-29T18:06:00+00:00","author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Mbalula threatens forensic probe in clampdown on leaks to journalists","datePublished":"2024-10-29T18:06:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists"},"wordCount":668,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2024\/10\/Hazrati1730212566.481076.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-South-Africa","South-Africa"],"articleSection":["all news","head lines","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists","name":"Mbalula threatens forensic probe in clampdown on leaks to journalists - South Africa","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2024\/10\/Hazrati1730212566.481076.jpg","datePublished":"2024-10-29T18:06:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2024\/10\/Hazrati1730212566.481076.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2024\/10\/Hazrati1730212566.481076.jpg","width":1000,"height":659,"caption":"Mbalula threatens forensic probe in clampdown on leaks to journalists"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/mbalula-threatens-forensic-probe-in-clampdown-on-leaks-to-journalists#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mbalula threatens forensic probe in clampdown on leaks to journalists"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/","name":"South Africa","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}