The Times Sunday reported today (6 February 2011) Nelisiwe Shongwe, Information and Communications Technology Minister and her husband Petros ‘have come out to declare undying love for each other.’
They were making this rather yukky declaration following reports on Facebook and in the Swazi media this week that Petros caught his wife in a car kissing with
Petros is then reported to have beaten his wife with fists and kicks.
‘The couple say their marriage is intact and grows stronger every day,’ the Times Sunday said. And it considered the story so important it devoted nearly 1,200 words to it.
But, Umgosi Eswatini, The Real Staff, the Facebook site that broke the story says – in time honoured investigative journalism fashion – ‘We stand by our story’.
And it has a dig at the Times Sunday for its own poor journalistic practice.
In a message to Umgosi Eswatini Facebook members published today, Gangadza Masilela, responds,
‘I believe you have seen and read today edition of the Sunday Times of Swaziland where there are interviewing the Minister Senanile Snhongwe and her husband. Basics principle of journalism is to get both sides of the story and then publish but what the times did was the opposite. The fact is I Gangadza Masilela stand by each and every word, comer, and full stop. Shame to the Sunday Times and its editor.’
And as for Mr and Mrs Shongwe? I don’t have to remind readers of the number of times celebrity couples have publicly stated their undying devotion to each other before meeting in the divorce court weeks later.
Mr and Mrs Shongwe had better be careful about the public claims they make about their relationship. This one could come back to bite them on the backside.
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