adminLovemore Mataire Senior Reporter
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has branded his country’s media as Western agents following reports in the London Guardian newspaper quoting him blaming President Jacob Zuma for the fracas that ensued during his State of the Nation address in parliament last week. Mr Mbeki was particularly irked by the fact that most South African newspapers quoted an article by the Guardian Africa correspondent David Smith alleging that President Zuma should have politically dealt with the opposition questions over the funding of his Nkanda home.
In a statement issued on the official page of the Mbeki Foundation yesterday, Mr Mbeki’s spokesperson Mr Mukoni Ratshitanga said the article in the London Guardian was a misinterpretation of what the former president said during his interactive session with students at the Thabo Mbeki Leadership Institute at the University of South Africa.
Mr Ratshitanga said he noted with concern that some South African publications were quoting verbatim Smith’s article without verifying its authenticity.
He said Mr Smith used his own interpretation of a broad analysis about the root cause of the incident that took place during the State of the Nation address and accredited it to Mr Mbeki.
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