'I was an activist, never a spy' - journalist on Madikizela-Mandela claims
Two journalists accused by the late Winnie Madikizela-Mandela of being behind a smear campaign against her rubbished the claims against them on Friday.
Madikizela-Mandela named the journalists in a video clip published on HuffPost SA. The video has since been pulled from the website after HuffPost SA acknowledged that it was published without the necessary comment from the respective journalists, Thandeka Gqubule and Anton Harber.
Speaking to News24, Gqubule, named by Madikizela-Mandela as a reporter who "specialised in writing very negative stories" about her dismissed the allegation, saying she was "an activist, never a spy".
Gqubule, the economics editor at the SABC, told News24 she and those close to her had decided to not yet comment on the allegation out of respect for President Cyril Ramaphosa's official 10 days of mourning for the struggle stalwart.
"[What is being said] is utter malicious hogwash, but we will contextualise it so that the toxicity of this kind of shaming, naming and narrative building does not occur to other people and that it doesn't sully the belief in journalism as a public good," Gqubule said.