Cape Town - The publishers of Jacques Pauw’s controversial new book on President Jacob Zuma, have appealed to South Africans to "do the right thing, and please pay for it".
This as "a pirated, hacked copy of The President’s Keepers" was being widely shared on social media on Friday night and Saturday.
The investigative journalist's book, which claims that the president has been on the payroll of criminal networks, was released on Sunday, and has been making headlines and flying off the shelves ever since.
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The book also alleges that Zuma, for the first four years of his presidency had not filed his tax returns to Sars and that he had also received a R1 million monthly salary for several months in 2009 without declaring this to tax authorities.
Pauw and his publisher on Friday received a cease and desist letter from the State Security Agency (SSA) and threats of legal action by the SA Revenue Service (Sars) over a “breach of confidential taxpayer information”.
Pauw says he will defend the book in court.
"As NB Publishers, the publisher of Pauw’s important book, we understand that many South Africans are doing this innocently, believing it to be a protest against the State Security Agency’s attempt to have the book withdrawn, the publisher said on Saturday.
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"We assure the public the book is not banned and we are printing more to meet the overwhelming demand and working to get them to the shops as soon as possible. We are also fighting the attempt to have this book withdrawn.
"Piracy hurts this courageous author, who has put everything on the line to ensure South Africa knows the truth this book tells. It also hurts the publishing industry, and is illegal.
"The author and NB Publishers have taken huge risks to bring this important investigative work out into the open. So please read it, but also do the right thing, and please pay for it."