Stephan
Hofstatter

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Controversies

A lot of misinformation, distortions of fact and outright fabrications have been doing the rounds, both on public platforms and in private, about my involvement in three controversial stories produced by the Sunday Times investigations unit, and my subsequent departure from the newspaper.

Here is my version of events. 

As you’ll see from my bio page, I joined the staff of the Sunday Times in 2010 after I’d written some major corruption exposés about the Land Bank.

At the Sunday Times I began to work closely with Mzilikazi wa Afrika and Rob Rose. It was a particularly productive partnership, and we regularly broke some of the biggest stories in the country, often resulting in powerful politicians being held to account. The stories included exposing two corrupt police real estate deals awarded to an associate of President Jacob Zuma; bribes paid to the wife of the president’s spokesperson, Mac Maharaj; and how his communications minister, Dina Pule, dished out state contracts to her boyfriend. These three stories alone won numerous prizes, including three Taco Kuiper awards for investigative journalism and two overall Vodacom Journalist of the Year awards. Among the many positive impacts of our reporting was that the real estate deal was cancelled, thus saving taxpayers R1.7 billion, and Bheki Cele was fired as police chief.

During this period we also became embroiled in controversies related to the following three stories:

• Renditions
• Cato Manor
• SARS rogue unit

A more detailed account of each can be found by clicking on the links above.

These controversies led to some commentators speculating that we had been “captured” or corrupted. My response to these allegations can be found here. The circumstances surrounding my departure from the Sunday Times can be found here.

There were also numerous fake controversies generated by people who were paid to throw mud at us. Prominent examples are:

• Dina Pule’s lucrative love affair
• Jacob Zuma’s Dubai mansion

Key takeouts

• I was never “fired” or “let go” from the Sunday Times, or anywhere else. I have never faced a single disciplinary hearing in a career spanning more than two decades. The editors I reported to always expressed the highest regard for my work and professional conduct.
• The Satchwell inquiry was tasked with investigating “allegations of ‘ethical’ malfeasance” in the media industry. After perusing 200 documents and interviewing 167 people, the inquiry concluded: “It must be categorically stated that no ethical malpractice on the part of Hofstatter, [Malcolm] Rees, Rose or wa Afrika has been suggested to the panel”, and that “no bribery or malevolent intent has been shown”.
• The Satchwell inquiry into media ethics later found that Tiso Blackstar, the company that owned the Sunday Times, had struck a backroom deal with former police general Johan Booysen and forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan to retract the Cato Manor stories. It pointed out the Sunday Times editors and managers had caved into their threats, prioritising short-term commercial viability above editorial independence – without admitting that they had been intimidated into doing so. It concluded that “politico-financial considerations have triumphed over the truth of journalism”. 
• Controversies surrounding the stories about Zimbabweans allegedly being taken illegally across the border to their deaths have more to do with politics than any editorial issues, investigations subsequent to publication have shown. No journalistic errors of fact or process have been found with any of these stories.
• The Cato Manor stories were based on solid, detailed evidence gathered over more than a year from over 40 interviews – often with people with direct or expert knowledge of events – that has never been tested in court. The Satchwell inquiry found our sources had not been discredited, describing the testimony of community members and human rights activists unconnected to the Sunday Times as “compelling”. The evidence still merits a thorough, professional criminal investigation and, where warranted, prosecution — one that is not tainted by political manipulation.
• We did make errors of fact, emphasis and process with the SARS rogue unit story. I did not originate the story and was never the lead writer. But I did take part without employing enough professional rigour and care – something I regret to this day. That is why I publicly apologised for what role I played. I think this should be weighed against my work as a journalist over two decades. I have written or contributed to literally hundreds of stories and two books that have exposed corruption and abuse of power at the highest levels. Accepting that I made mistakes in the SARS story, and having apologised for that, I believe I still have a contribution to make as a journalist.  I hope that my role in the SARS story will not be used in perpetuity to stop me from doing my job, which is holding those in power to account, without fear or favour.
• Fake controversies were generated by spin doctors paid the throw mud at us and our stories. For example, during our reporting on the Bheki Cele lease scandal and on Dina Pule ceding control of her communications portfolio to her boyfriend we were vilified, subjected to personal attacks and accused by parties with vested interests of being a disgrace to journalism. In both cases our reporting was vindicated by independent inquiries that resulted in Cele and Pule being relieved of their duties.
• Former President Jacob Zuma’s supporters also sought to discredit our story about his mansion in Dubai on the grounds that he holds no title deeds to the property in question. In fact, our story details evidence that the Gupta family bought the house and intended it for Zuma’s occupation – not that he owned it.
• The notion that I was somehow “captured” or even bribed to advance the interests of the Zuma faction in the ANC, or should have known I was being used for state capture, is utterly devoid of truth. In fact, there is abundant evidence to the contrary. I have written or contributed to literally hundreds of stories and two books that have exposed state capture and corruption, including by Zuma. Many of these resulted directly in corrupt deals being halted and led to implicated officials being removed from their posts and, in some cases, convicted of their crimes.