Veteran journalists in messy twar over Sars story

A story in Noseweek looking at former Sars official Johann van Loggerenberg has started a Twitter war between the publication’s editor Martin Welz and investigative journalist and The President’s Keepers author Jaques Pauw, who is mentioned in the story.

Veteran journalist Max Du Preez also jumped into the fray, asking Welz what his “agenda” was and calling the story “bizarre” and disappointing.

As top #SARS officials face charges, #Noseweek takes another look at the secret world of Johann van Loggerenberg (JvL) and his friends in the media – a world of intrigue and subterfuge that is generally, but not always, in a good cause https://t.co/cpZaCZwVfI

— Martin Welz Noseweek (@Martin_Welz) December 3, 2018

Pauw slammed the story on Twitter, saying it was riddled with mistakes and asking why Welz would try and expose his sources.

He also identified what he saw as several inaccuracies in the piece relating to his work as well as News24 Adriaan Basson’s.

According to Pauw, the Noseweek article’s assertion that “Basson and Pauw co-authored a timely scoop in City Press about a ‘fraudulent and possibly corrupt’ R52 million Limpopo roads tender won by On-Point Engineers, in which the family trust of then ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema was a shareholder” is incorrect. He said it was actually journalist Piet Rampedi who wrote the article with Basson.

READ MORE: Jacques Pauw asks questions about Malema’s wife’s Porsche

The article says that Basson won CNN’s Journalist of the Year award in 2012, which Pauw says is also false.

It alleges Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan played a role in Pauw’s bestselling book about former president Jacob Zuma, The President’s Keepers, something Pauw also denies.

In another tweet, Pauw claimed he and Welz were friends until April this year and that the Noseweek editor knew “very well” that Gordhan and former acting Sars commissioner Ivan Pillay had played no role in the writing of The President’s Keepers.

Geez, @Martin_Welz , what's your agenda here? This is bizarre and disappointing

— Max du Preez (@MaxduPreez) December 3, 2018

The irony is that Welz and I were good friends until April this year. He knows very well that neither Gordhan nor Pillay nor anyone else had written my book. Why has he now repeated the discredited Steve Motale's allegations for the second time?

— Jacques Pauw (@Jaqqs) December 3, 2018

Welz, meanwhile, hit back at Pauw, using the same words he had. Pauw described Welz’s story as “Another Nosweek story riddled with mistakes”, and Welz, in turn, described Pauw’s tweet as “Another Jacques Pauw tirade riddled with mistakes!”.

The Noseweek editor went on to say “facts no longer matter” to Pauw.

He responded to Pauw’s claims by saying “City Press’s story headlined ‘R52m tender trips up Malema’ naming the Ratananga Trust and dated 2012-09-23 lists its authors as ‘Adriaan Basson, Jacques Pauw & Athandiwe Saba'” and accusing him of “desperate attacks” on his publication.

READ MORE: Jacques Pauw tears Lost Boys of Bird Island apart in scathing review

Welz, in another tweet, argued with Pauw over his assertion that it was “impossible” Van Loggerenberg could have been an apartheid spy.

And according to Welz, Basson did indeed win the CNN award for African Newspaper Journalist of the Year in 2012.

The Noseweek story, available to subscribers only, can be found here.

Another JacquesPauw tirade riddled with mistakes! See my previous responses to this one. At this stage, it seems, facts no longer matter to him. A great pity.

— Martin Welz Noseweek (@Martin_Welz) December 3, 2018

It's not clear at all. CityPress's story headlined "R52m tender trips up Malema" naming the Ratananga Trust and dated 2012-09-23 lists its authors as "Adriaan Basson, Jacques Pauw & Athandiwe Saba". I am similarly dumbfounded by Pauw's desperate attacks on myself & #Noseweek https://t.co/RnD9objlv7

— Martin Welz Noseweek (@Martin_Welz) December 3, 2018

The facts: #VanLoggerenberg told Sikhakane he was "undercover agent of the SAP" in apartheid yrs, later a member of "what was known as the Republican Spy Programme". RSP was "used in a political context", but he'd focussed "mostly" on crime investigations. A spy by any other name https://t.co/LC1bEtQ6CZ

— Martin Welz Noseweek (@Martin_Welz) December 3, 2018

And you're wrong again: #AdriaanBasson did win the 2012 CNN award as African Newspaper Journalist of the Year "for a series of stories on Julius Malema". A footnote to an open letter Basson wrote to Tom Moyane fin24 in March 2016 confirms it in greater detail. Jealous?

— Martin Welz Noseweek (@Martin_Welz) December 3, 2018

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