{"id":4878,"date":"2017-07-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-24T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/amabhungane\/stories\/a-new-email-suggests-the-blf-leader-not-only-met-the-guptas-but-that-he-received-an-instruction-from-the-family-to-write-a-column-about-alec-hogg\/"},"modified":"2024-09-22T17:47:49","modified_gmt":"2024-09-22T17:47:49","slug":"guptaleaks-gupta-spin-machine-commissioned-blfs-mngxitama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/guptaleaks-gupta-spin-machine-commissioned-blfs-mngxitama\/","title":{"rendered":"#GuptaLeaks: Gupta spin machine commissioned BLF\u2019s Mngxitama"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Black First Land First leader Andile Mngxitama did not only meet with the Guptas, he also received an instruction to write an article about BizNews<\/em> editor Alec Hogg on their behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has been revealed in the #GuptaLeaks which shows that Mngxitama met with Gupta lieutenant Santosh Choubey in February 2016 and that he asked the family for funding around the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mngxitama has denied receiving any money from the Guptas despite aggressively defending them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new email has been discovered that suggests Mngxitama did more than just meet the Guptas; that he actually received instructions from the family and that his \u201cfree\u201d voice may, at least once, have been steered by London PR firm Bell Pottinger and the Guptas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the trove of emails that form part of the leaks there is an email address, teammedia2016@gmail.com,  which is also known as \u201cmedia profile\u201d. The address seems to be a shared account where Bell Pottinger, the Guptas and staff including Choubey discussed their media campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was from this email account that Mngxitama was sent a message on 11 March 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The email was titled \u201cPeter Bruce!\u201d and it included an attachment of an opinion article written by Bruce, the Tiso Blackstar editor at large. The opinion piece was based on a legal letter the Guptas had sent to Hogg. Hogg published the letter sent to him by London-based reputation and privacy consultancy Schillings on his online site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bruce weighed in on what was seemingly a legal letter from Schillings, saying it showed the Guptas were anxious, but their move was sure to backfire because Hogg was no pushover, businessmen would help fund a defamation claim for Hogg and \u201cit will intensify efforts to prove Gupta\/Zuma links the London lawyers say don\u2019t exist\u201d. He also said a trial will open opportunities to discover what the Guptas had been up to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the body of the email, the author of \u201cteam media\u201d asks Mngxitama, \u201cPls see, and the part where he writes about Alex (sic) Hogg funders, can you write on this something and send some questions to him, for source of funding, legal\/illegal, who are the funders. Thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The email appears to be an instruction to Mngxitama to write about Hogg and to send him questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hogg, along with Bruce, are among a list of journalists that Mngxitama has openly stated <\/a>he is gunning for as \u201cwhite racists\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When called, Mngxitama told us he did not know what we were talking about and asked that he be emailed queries, which he has not yet responded to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gupta leaks show that New Age<\/em> journalists followed up on Bruce\u2019s opinion piece by sending him and Hogg questions about Biznews\u2019 funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further emails to and from the \u201cmedia profile\u201d address give more insight into how Bell Pottinger and the Guptas were attempting to change the national narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of these was the PR firm writing \u201copinion pieces\u201d and then publishing them, giving them bylines of people who either did not exist or in no way had anything to do with the writing of the piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the same day Mngxitama was sent instructions on what to write, Choubey sent former Oakbay executive Nazeem Howa and other TNA staff an article titled \u201cSouth Africa must break economic apartheid\u201d. The article was earlier sent to Choubey by Bell Pottinger employee Philip Peck in order to support the angle that the group was under attack for supporting black business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to Choubey asking for space in the New Age,<\/em> Howa responded that it \u201cneeds to go under someone\u2019s name as an opinion piece\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The article appears<\/a> to have been published a few days later under the byline \u201cJohn Britain\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An email from Bell Pottinger\u2019s Peck further indicates the extent to which the firm was involved in managing fake Twitter accounts which were pushing a \u201cwhite monopoly capital\u201d agenda. In his recent apology about work done for the Guptas, Bell Pottinger chief executive James Henderson said: \u201cThere has been a social media campaign that highlights the issue of economic emancipation in a way that we, having now seen it, consider to be inappropriate and offensive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 11 February 2016 Peck emailed the \u201cmedia profile\u201d address to give feedback on his review of the Twitter accounts and websites of \u201csympathises\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The email said they had \u201creviewed the Twitter accounts and website of your sympathisers provided (from an objective \/ neutral point of view) and have the following observations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n