Sordid e-mail trail on Ramaphosa dries up

The leaked e-mails that promised to sink ANC presidential hopeful Cyril Ramaphosa seem to have done a vanishing act.

The Sunday Independent revealed salacious details from private e-mails from Ramaphosa's accounts last month that purported to show details of his relationships with eight women.

The newspaper and businessman Kenny Kunene's Weekly Xposé website vowed to continue publishing details but none has been forthcoming.

Ramaphosa's attempt to interdict the Sunday Independent before its publication of the e-mails failed.

Kunene said he and associates were still working on the e-mails.

"We are investigating that. We are coming. We are gathering evidence," he told The Times.

One of the articles published the name and two pornographic videos of one of the women Ramaphosa allegedly had an affair with. He is not in the video.

The woman brought a successful court application to have the videos removed from the Weekly Xposé website. But Kunene said outside the court that he had "over a hundred videos and photos".

He accused The Times and the Sunday Times of being "PR for Cyril".

"When he takes over this country, that is exactly the type of leader that we are going to have that is going to suppress, who is going to lock journalists up, who is going to intimidate and threaten owners and journalists," he said.

Sunday Independent editor Steve Motale declined to say what had happened to the further exposes he promised.

"What is the interest? My answer shortly to you is, it is none of your business."

Motale last month wrote that the leaked e-mails contained photos, pornographic videos and bank deposit slips.

Ramaphosa's acting spokesman, Tyrone Seale, said the deputy president had laid charges with the police because he believed his e-mails had been unlawfully accessed.