- Acting Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshaveni says there is no high-level operation against the Independent Media group.
- The group's Pretoria News newspaper made headlines last week when it reported that a Gauteng woman had given birth to decuplets.
- Although editor Piet Rampedi says he stands by his story, medical practitioners established she had never been pregnant.
There's no high-level operation against the Independent Media group and its shareholders, Parliament has heard.
Acting Minister in the presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said there's "no operation" to harm the media group.
In a written parliamentary question, IFP Zandile Majozi asked Ntshaveni whether she had been informed of a high-level operation in which "powerful politicians are using state organs to harm Independent Media and its major shareholder, Sekunjalo Investment Holdings, and thereby posing a threat to media freedom.
"The Government Communications Information Sytems (GCIS) is not aware of any operation to harm the Independent Media group and its major shareholder Sekunjalo Investment Holdings. The department is obliged in terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa to treat all media fairly," Ntshaveni's response read.
The newspaper had reported as fact that Gosiame Sithole gave birth to decuplets on 7 June 2021.
The government subsequently said none of the hospitals in the province - public and private - had any record of such births at its facilities.
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Sithole was admitted to Tembisa Hospital on 18 June 2021, and various medical tests were conducted on her to determine her state of health.
The national Department of Health maintained it had no record of the delivery of decuplets in Gauteng and that the alleged "cover-up" by health authorities was more likely a "journalistic error".
The Gauteng government was planning legal action against Rampedi and Independent Media over the saga.
Medical practitioners also established Sithole had never been pregnant.
She was meant to be kept at the hospital for 72 hours, but doctors recommended she be kept for an additional seven days for further observation, in accordance with the Mental Health Care Act.
Independent Media told News24 in reply to questions that they had received an apology from Rampedi, and that he stood by his story.