Cape Town - Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba says a video of a sexual nature, which was stolen when his cell phone was hacked in 2016/2017 has been used in an attempt to blackmail him and is now circulating among politicians.
In a series of tweets on Sunday morning, Gigaba revealed that the video was first used to try and blackmail him when he was appointed finance minister in March 2017. According to Gigaba, he rebuffed the attempt and reported the incident to the relevant authorities.
Now it appears the video has surfaced again - and this time it is circulating among politicians. Gigaba apologised to his family for the embarrassment which they may suffer as a result of the video which he says was "meant for our eyes only".
Gigaba's spokesperson has confirmed that the video does not feature the minister's wife Norma. It is reportedly a video of Gigaba alone, which he made for his wife.
My wife and I have learned, with regret and sadness, that a video containing material of a sexual nature, meant for our eyes only, which was stolen when my communication got illegally intercepted/my phone got hacked, in 2016/17, is circulating among certain political figures...
— Malusi Gigaba (@mgigaba) October 28, 2018
This video has been at the centre of a number of blackmail and extortion attempts, dating back to the period immediately following my appointment as Minister of Finance, on 31 March 2017, all of which I have steadfastly refused to entertain...
— Malusi Gigaba (@mgigaba) October 28, 2018
These blackmail/extortion attempts as well as the illegal interception of my communication/hacking of my phone have all been reported to the relevant law enforcement/intelligence agencies and I am advised that the resultant investigations are still continuing...
— Malusi Gigaba (@mgigaba) October 28, 2018
I take this opportunity to publicly apologise, in advance, to the rest of my family - especially my kids, my mom and my in-laws - and the South African public for the pain and embarrassment the likely wider distribution of this private material will cause...
— Malusi Gigaba (@mgigaba) October 28, 2018
I hope our nation will, someday, constructively engage with the question of whether it is correct to condone and promote the gross invasion of the privacy of others by distributing such material, more especially in the clear absence of a public interest justification...
— Malusi Gigaba (@mgigaba) October 28, 2018
I have asked Vuyo Mkhize of public affairs consultancy Kapital Mindz to handle all media enqueries relating to this matter on behalf of my family and I. Khabazela has been assisting me, in my personal capacity, with the management of this matter, since around May 2017.
— Malusi Gigaba (@mgigaba) October 28, 2018