The SA National Editors' Forum has expressed concern about two police officers calling at the Mail & Guardian newspaper's offices yesterday following a complaint made by the public protector last month.
Mail & Guardian deputy editor Beauregard Tromp said the paper's offices had not been "raided" and the policemen had acted "cordially" and "professionally" when they asked to speak to the editor.
" There was nothing threatening and [there was] no invasion of our space ," he said.
The newspaper reported yesterday that the officers asked journalist Phillip de Wet for a statement on the source of a "leaked" draft report by former public protector Thuli Madonsela on the Absa-Bankorp "bailout".
The Mail & Guardian reported on the interim report last month.
In it Madonsela recommended that Absa repay the fiscus R2.25-billion in respect of an "unlawful" bailout extended to it by the government towards the end of the apartheid era. Madonsela's successor, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, asked the police to institute a criminal investigation.
"[ Mkhwebane] suggested that she was taking action against the leak ," said Tromp.
"We argued that [Madonsela] hadstated that she had put the report out there to the public. So, as far as we are concerned, it's a public document [and is of] overwhelming public interest."
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