Durban – Last Thursday, The Mercury published an article titled, “ Hawks investigate University of Zululand”, revealing that the SAPS’s Hawks – also known as the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation – were investigating the university’s vice-chancellor, Professor Xoliswa Mtose.
In response, the university took out a full-page advertisement, which appeared in The Sunday Times on Sunday, beneath the heading: “The Assassination of the University of Zululand”.
In the advertisement, the university disputed “the latest fabricated news published by The Mercury”.
It also said that we had taken ourselves “out of the realm of investigative journalism or even news satire clearly into the realm of Trumpesque fake news (sic)”.
We, as The Mercury, stand by our article.
At the crux of our article was the fact that Mtose was under investigation by The Hawks.
This was confirmed to us in an e-mail from the provincial co-ordinator of the The Hawks’ commercial crime branch, which read:
“This office can only confirm at this stage that the subject, Professor Xoliswa Mtose, as mentioned, is under investigation by The Hawks, Durban Commercial Crime Unit. No further particulars may be divulged at this stage”.
Before publishing our article, The Mercury received a tip-off that Mtose was under investigation by The Hawks.
As explained, we confirmed this with The Hawks.
We then approached former university employee Hlakaniphani Jamile, who confirmed to us that he had laid criminal charges against Mtose at the Mtunzini police station last year and that he had since been told that The Hawks had taken over the investigation.
We had sight of a statement he had deposed to and included the contents thereof in our article, as accusations against Mtose.
The university, in Sunday’s advertisement, pointed out that last year Jamile “underwent a disciplinary hearing for gross misconduct” and that he had been found guilty of various charges.
We also included this information in our article, as follows:
“Last year, Jamile was subject to an internal disciplinary hearing and found guilty of gross misconduct and gross dishonesty”.
In addition, we contacted the university and offered it right of reply before publishing our article.
We wrote their communications department an e-mail, as follows:
“We understand the Hawks are investigating allegations of fraud against the VC (Professor Xoliswa Mtose) and would like to offer the university the opportunity to comment on these allegations and advise whether or not the VC is still working while under investigation”.
The university responded via labour lawyers, Dunstan Farrell.
We included this response, as follows, in our article:
“We are instructed to advise you that our client has no knowledge of these investigations whatsoever. In any event Professor Mtose denies all allegations of fraud”.
The lawyers also said: “It is our client’s view that a number of disgruntled employees are responsible for providing the press with misinformation simply to destabilize the university” and e-mailed us the findings and sanctions of a number of disciplinary enquiries, labour court applications and judgments pertaining to industrial action.
Contacted on Sunday, Jamile said he had felt The Mercury’s’ article was accurate and precise.
“These are desperate measures. Why, if there is nothing wrong, would they could go the extent of paying for a full-page advertisement in a national newspaper to claim innocence?” he said of the advertisement in The Sunday Times, “There are charges I have laid The appropriate thing for them to do now is to prepare their defence”.
Jamile said the money spent on the advertisement was university funds.
“They shouldn’t be spending money on a public relations exercise,” he said.