To the Editor
Isolezwe
Via email: thulani.mbatha@inl.co.za
Dear Sir:
I have taken note of your paper’s imaginative interpretation of the events that unfolded in Nseleni in KwaZulu Natal on 5 December 2010, at an event to mark the start of 16 Days of Activism.
Your paper erroneously claims that chaos erupted when a group of Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) supporters, led by former KwaZulu Natal Premier Dr Lionel Mtshali, stormed into the meeting. Your paper further reported that there were tensions after the group arrived and shots were fired.
That is a gross misrepresentation of the facts as it is not what transpired. Dr Mtshali and his IFP colleagues did not storm the meeting. He and other Party leaders attended the gathering in support of their National Chairperson, Mrs Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi, who was invited to speak at the function. In the IFP it is common practice that we accompany our leaders whenever they are invited to speak during public gatherings.
To the loyal members of the Party this incident is a painful and tragic reminder of how deep the rifts within the IFP have become and how important it is for the Party’s survival to heal these rifts. It has also exposed the media’s entrenched bias against the IFP leadership, for loyal IFP members and leaders have been blamed for inciting the violence, when it is common gun-wielding thugs that are to blame.
I urge the media to ensure that they have their facts straight when reporting on the IFP and on matters of such grave importance, and to refrain from reporting about the IFP in a manner that fails to meet the basic standards of the press code which obliges journalists to report news truthfully, accurately and fairly.
Albert Mncwango MP
IFP National Organiser
