
Political formations, chief among them being the EFF, say the alleged R2 million donation by Johnny Copelyn, the director of Hosken Consolidated Investments - which owns 24-hour news broadcaster eNCA - raises questions about some media houses' objectivity in news reporting.
According to a detailed news report carried by the Sunday Independent over the weekend, Copelyn gave out R2m to the campaign that netted almost a billion rand and that has since sparked an uproar against President Cyril Ramaphosa as a “captured” and “prepaid president. “
Other alleged prominent donors named in the report include former Absa bank chief executive, Maria Ramos, former MTN boss Sifiso Dabengwa and billionaire Nicky Oppenheimer’s family, whose Fireblade Aviation was granted permission to use a private terminal at OR Tambo International Airport after launching a court case against the Home Affairs Department.
Reacting to these allegations, spokesperson of the EFF Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said the revelations confirm their long held view that media houses have taken sides and openly campaign for Ramaphosa.
“We indicated, using the concept of Stratcom that there are dedicated defenders of Ramaphosa within media houses. eNCA is arguably one of those houses, housing people dedicated to push Ramaphosa propaganda,” Ndlozi said.