The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Ndavaningi Mangwana does not know why prominent investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono was arrested.
Speaking during South African broadcaster SABC’s Morning Live programme, Mangwana was asked by the show’s host, Sakina Kamwendo, the charges against Chin’ono but struggled to give a coherent response.
After stumbling for the proper answer, Mangwana said Chin’ono is facing treason allegations (subverting a constitutional government), when in fact, the journalist is being charged with inciting public violence. UK-based constitutional law expert, Alex Magaisa commented on Kamwendo and Mangwana’s exchange:
Here’s Secretary Nick Mangwana having a terribly hard time on South African television. He is the government’s spokesman but looked terribly underprepared for the job at hand.
The presenter Sakina Kamwendo, whom I’m told takes no prisoners on her shift, asked him a simple question: what is the charge against jailed journalist Hopewell Chin’ono?
A visibly befuddled Secretary Mangwana pleaded that he had not heard the question properly. The patient Kamwendo obliged and repeated the question.
But Secretary Mangwana, who had bought himself a few seconds to process the question still struggled to come up with a suitable answer.
Since he did not know the answer, he decided to hazard a wild guess. It’s something to do with subverting a constitutional government he said. He was like a fisherman who throws in a net hoping it will somehow catch some fish.
