In this edition of In The Ring, I analyse Prince Mashele's responses in interviews granted to eNCA, 702 and the SABC, in light of media reports that he had, ok the face of it, been dishonest about the nature of his biography of Herman Mashaba.
Herman Mashaba is leader of politica part ActionSA, and prior to that was always known as a very successful businessman in an against-all-odds tale at the height of apartheid; in recent years he a new career pivot that had also seen him becoming mayor of Johannesburg.
Mashele, a well-known South African political analyst, had claimed that he had "self-funded" his book on Mashaba, and the subtitle of the book declared it to be "unauthorised".
It has emerged that Mashaba had provided funding for the book, and had engaged the author on drafts of the chapter.
This raises sharp ethical questions: was the work unauthorised or authtoised ? Did Mashele lie on eNCA? Did Mashele WRONGLY withheld the information from Jonathan Ball ? What, most importantly, are the consequences for the professional integrity of the author? And what are we to make of the other actors in this drama: the subject; the publisher; the researcher/former best friend Brutus Malada who 'blew the whistle'?
Have a listen to my uhm unauthorised take.