Cape Town - Independent forensic auditors have concluded that a racist and offensive email alleged to have originated from a MiWay staff member is a fake, the insurance firm said on Tuesday.
A social media post purporting to be a snapshot of an internal MiWay email containing racist remarks sparked outrage last week.
The email reads: "This is a reminder of yesterdays managers meeting. The final decisions was to reject 90% of claims made by black people as from 1 August 2017. They are an easy target, its also a great opportunity to save money and punish those black baboons."
After being blasted on social media, MiWay said the email was fake and launched an investigation.
On Tuesday MiWay CEO René Otto said: “We have received the full report from independent forensic auditors, which conclusively proves that the email is a fake and did not originate from MiWay or its staff. The audit has also identified the individual responsible.”
Danny Myburgh, managing director of the audit firm Cyanre - The Digital Forensic Lab, stated: “We can confirm, after a detailed investigation, that an email sent from a MiWay employee was manipulated by an external source. The image circulating on social media is a fabrication.”
Regarding the publication of the report, Otto said: “To be fair, we have decided not to publish the report as yet, and provide the client with the opportunity to respond first. Once we have received feedback, we will be in a position to elaborate on the way forward.”