Is Sikonathi Mantshantsha a credible investigative journalist or used to attack black leaders. He has a history of lying; history has no blank pages. He finds enjoyment in destroying the image of black leaders who are doing their work. This propels many of us to objectively question who has hired him to push these continuous narratives. And why does he find joy in destroying people’s reputations and image. Does Mantshantsha adhere to fairness, honesty and responsibility in his work as a journalist? He has always been known for not being ethical as a journalist who’s his writings are not aligned with values, avoiding harm and contributing positively. He has attempted to seek relevance at all costs without caring about his way of destroying people’s reputations and careers in the process. Not so long ago, the former acting Group CEO of Eskom Matshela Koko exposed on Twitter, now known as X in 2021 that Mantshantsha told three lies about him: that he had a bank account in Dubai, that he had more than eight houses that he owned and the last one was the given his daughter contracts at Eskom worth R 300 million.
Koko sued Mantshantsha for R600 000 in damages over the same tweets posted while Mantshantsha was a financial journalist at Financial Mail and Business Day. In early 2024, Koko and Mantshantsha reached an out-of-court settlement regarding a long-running defamation lawsuit. Why did Mantshantsha settle out of court if what he said about Koko was the gospel truth?
At the same later stage, South Africans were shocked to learn that the same Mantshantsha, who used to attack Eskom, was appointed as the spokesperson of the same entity. He was appointed with Andre de Ruyter whose departure from Eskom in February 2023 was marked by significant controversy and a “messy” exit that sparked nationwide debate over his performance and the state of the utility. Besides leaving Eskom as unproductive state owned enterprise, was Mantshatsha given a 3-year fixed term contract as a reward?
In comparison to the Koko’s era, De Ruyter’s first two years at the helm of Eskom were the worst yet for load-shedding, and energy experts expected his third to be no better. Is this an issue of colour that Mantshantsha finds comfort around white people he would do anything to impress anything that is white. If it was still apartheid I would call him mdlwembe ( a traitor).
During apartheid those that were spies for white people they were called imdlwembe. Of recent he is trying hard to discredit the Executive of Mayor of Ekurhuleni Nkosindiphile Xhakaza trying to link him to the murder of the late Mpho Mafole who was an official in the city and today he now linking him to the later popular DJ Bongani Mfito who was a resident DJ at Innocent lounge, instead of a rival of Innocent Lounge. He needs to tell us why would the Mayor want the both of them dead, what does he stand to benefit from the death of the two of them. While noting that Xhakaza was not even the mayor at the time of the murder of Mfito and he was not doing business with the city based on what I read on News 24. Why is there an onslaught on Xhakaza from the likes of Matshantsha. Based on the things he wrote about Koko in the past why must we believe what he is writing about Xhakaza of recent? He talks about the security company that the alleged assassinator Thabani Goodwill Ntshalintshali worked for but he does not elaborate further on who owns that security company why is becoming a lazy journalist when it comes to the owner of 87 Future Enterprises.
With all that I have said above we should ask ourselves if indeed Matshantsha want us to believe that he is credible investigative journalist or is he a hired gun sent to destroy the reputation of Xhakaza what is that Xhakaza is doing in the city that is making him to be the target and making people to be so uncomfortable with his decisive leadership style.
The likes Modibe Modiba social media influencer and controversial journalist Mantshantsha are slowly losing their creditability for pushing specific political narratives or agenda. The same method that was used by Mantshantsha to discredit Koko is the same one that Modiba is using to discredit Xhakaza. While noting this is not the first time that Modiba’s credibility is questioned, in the past he made allegations against Daily Maverick that they used to pay him to write negative stories about the previous Public Investment Cooperative (PIC) CEO Dan Matjila, Iqbal Surver owner of Independent Media and Economic Freedom Fighters. While noting that the opinion piece that Mantshatsha wrote about Koko was also published by Daily Maverick. Let’s also connect the dots here.
Why does Modiba start to attack Xhakaza after the suspension of Moloko Monyepao who is an official in the city of Ekurhuleni and the former City Manager Dr. Dr Imogen Mashazi who recently appeared at the Madlanga Commission.
Rebone Tau – Political Commentator
