STATEMENT ON FORMER PRESIDENT THABO MBEKI'S REMARKS REGARDING INCIDENT AT THE SONA

The Office of former President Thabo Mbeki has noted a report by Mr. David Smith, Africa Correspondent for the London Guardian, which distorts remarks made by former President during a question and answer session with students at the Thabo Mbeki Institute for African Leadership at the University of South Africa on Friday (see here).

The article, headlined: "Thabo Mbeki slams Jacob Zuma over brawl in South Africa parliament," is a (mis) interpretation of what was said and amounts to a deliberate distortion. Mr. Smith does not make it clear to his readers that what he says is former President Mbeki's "belief" and "view" is in fact his own narrow interpretation of a broad analysis about the root cause of the incident that took place during the State of the Nation Address.

We have also noted that some South African publications are reprinting Mr. Smith's article almost verbatim without verification of its authenticity.

Fortunately, the session was recorded. The following Youtube link contains the remarks in question (see below).

Tomorrow, we will release a full transcript of the relevant part of the interaction for the public to make up its mind about Mr. Smith's invention.

Statement issued by the Office of former President Thabo Mbeki, Johannesburg, February 15, 2015

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