Mantashe admits to paying journalists R70K to make sex scandal go away
The EFF spokesperson wants the minister to hand himself over to police for admitting to bribery.
Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe reportedly admitted in this Sunday’s edition of Sunday World
that he paid two Sunday World journalists R70,000 to make a story
involving his alleged sordid sex life with a “slay queen” disappear.
According to the publication, Mantashe “declined” to answer their
questions “and instead claimed he previously paid two Sunday World
journalists R70,000 in total for the story to go away”.
The story was published as the newspaper’s lead anyway, with Mantashe
reportedly saying the journalist who contacted him was the “third
person” who wanted to run with it, and that he refused to pay again.
He told the publication that he “begged” for the story not to be written.
Sunday World editor and publisher Makhudu Sefara said he takes
Mantashe’s claims very seriously, as they implicate his journalists,
saying this kind of thing will not be tolerated and that he wants
Mantashe to come forward with names, after which he says there will be
“consequences”.
The story details
how Mantashe, who is married, was a “tiger in bed” who allegedly gave
26-year-old student and aspiring actress Lerato Makgatho payments of
R10,000 – R15,000 at a time, and complained when approached for more
money that he had already forked out R70,000 in total.
Makgatho in the article describes Mantashe as a “better blesser” than
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni, who she allegedly also slept with, as
well as a better lover – a “tiger in bed”. The story is accompanied with
screenshots from what appear to be WhatsApps between her and the two
ministers.
Repeated unsuccessful attempts to contact Mantashe were made by The
Citizen this morning. We will update this story with his comment as soon
as we receive it.
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