Articles on News24 and Netwerk24 by Maygene de Wee – 09 August 2018 titled:
‘’Alleged victim comes forward’’
The day after Media 24’s book the “the Lost Boys of Bird Island” was released for sale, extracts from it were published by Media24’s Sunday newspaper “Rapport” on Sunday, 5 August 2018.
Thereafter, for a considerable period of time, related reports extensively appeared on Media24’s electronic and printed media, in the process creating expectations for imminent revelations of victims and witnesses supposedly “expected to come forward”.
On 9 August 2018, Netwerk24 and News24 published an interview done and written by their reporter Maygene de Wee,
with one of the alleged victims of the purported paedophilia ring in Port Elizabeth, containing a plethora of
vicious and extremely defamatory fabrications. The man, married and a father of two, whom Media24 dubbed "Mr X",
was 44 years old in 2018 when he came forward
. This man claimed that in 1987, at the age of 13, he
had been kidnapped in Port Elizabeth by a group of white men. He was then allegedly given liquor and raped and
forced to perform sexual acts by one of the three former ministers mentioned in the book, who he claimed, made
him his wife
for the night. There is NO mention of what happened after that night. Nothing!
On the following day, Maygene de Wee travelled to Port Elizabeth to meet with Mark Minnie
(three days before he killed himself), for a desperate chase to the Witelsbos area to try and find a house Minnie
describes in the book The Lost Boys of Bird Island
as being the crime scene
. During this futile wild goose chase,
this very same Maygene de Wee arrogantly and illegally trespassed on a private property where Barend du Plessis owned a
house and openly lied to the caretaker there in her feeble attempts to obtain evidence
.
When asked for his opinion on Mr X, the investigator, Wouter de Swardt responded that in his opinion Mr X never existed. The picture of Mr X that accompanied the article shows a man whose face is blotted out to protect his identity, but anybody who knew him, would easily have been able to identify him. In Wouter de Swardt's opinion Maygene de Wee believed that she had indeed found a victim but did not do due deligence to confirm the facts. The Media24 editor should also have done due diligence before printing an untruth.
Significantly, however, the mysterious Mr X then instantaneously disappeared into thin air.
Netwerk24 and News24 both reported they could not verify the allegations but had run the story because of public interest. Netwerk24 also reported that the family of late Gen. Malan had denied the reports.
This would then mean that a reporter, news agency, newspaper – ANYBODY in the media industry – can publish ANYTHING purely based on UNPROVEN ALLEGATIONS because they may deem it in the public interest??
The following questions present themselves:
- When the book and its full content were proven to be false and withdrawn from circulation – why did each and every publication and reporter NOT report that fact on the front pages repeatedly like they did when the book was launched?
- Where is the illusive “Mr X” now? Why does he not come forward and testify?
- Why are Chris Steyn, Maygene de Wee, Herman Jansen, and all the other reporters that so eagerly reported unverified allegations now SILENT?
The ''Story of Mr X'' clearly was just another lie.
oooooOOOOOooooo