THE Press Ombudsman has dismissed allegations against City Power by News24.
This follows allegations that senior City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena was implicated in tender interference, dirty tricks campaign against News24 reporter.
Headline – “City Power spin doctor Mangena implicated in tender interference, dirty tricks campaign” that was published on 24 May 2026.
The article reads “… Mangena is implicated in apparent tender interference at the Joburg Fresh Food Market, according to a report by a law firm.”
“He allegedly introduced his “friend”, Mothepe Mangena, “who runs a Limpopo based company called Mmirwa Power, to CP official Marvin Baepi.”
The article “further reveals that Mangena and his colleagues are behind a coordinated disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting a News24 investigative journalist, Khaya Koko, who has, for the past two years, reported on corruption at CP,” according to the Press Ombud.
News24 argues that the complaint cannot be understood in isolation because it arose from a toxic CP power struggle in which untested allegations were allegedly used to discredit journalist Khaya Koko, and that Mangena’s complaint is an extension of that campaign.
The sentence in dispute reads, “News24 can further reveal that Mangena and his colleagues are behind a coordinated disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting a News24 investigative journalist.”
City Power complains that this statement is presented as a factual conclusion rather than as an allegation or an interpretation – without citing any independent investigation, judicial finding, disciplinary process, forensic report, or law enforcement finding to substantiate it, and despite City Power having rejected the allegation.
Mangena says that the journalist has already characterised the conduct as a “disinformation campaign” in correspondence prior to having asked for comment.
At the centre of this part of the complaint is the following sentence: “And according to another newsroom source at one of South Africa’s most revered weekly titles, a subordinate of Mangena’s, Portia Motsepe, provided the affidavit and a briefing to a reporter there.”
The complaint is that this statement directly implicates Motsepe in the alleged circulation of an affidavit to members of the media, while the allegation is attributed solely to an unnamed source, without the information having been corroborated.
City Power submits that the allegation is unsupported by any disclosed documentary or corroborating evidence, leaving readers unable to assess the source’s reliability or motives. Despite the serious reputational harm to the named employee, the article presents the allegation as a fact, while withholding the evidence said to support it.
The Ombuds further clarified it was misleading that Isaac Mangena introduced his ‘friend’ Mothepe Mangena of Mmirwa Power, to CP official Marvin Baepi in connection with the Joburg Market solar tender, though News24 relied on the KMA report.
City Power also complaint that News24 repeatedly associates Isaac Mangena with Mothepe Mangena, even though it also states that it “is unclear whether the two Mangenas are related”.
City Power says the allegation that Motsepe supplied an affidavit and briefed a reporter is based on an unnamed source, without adequately explaining how the allegation was independently corroborated.
Press Ombud further rejects News24’s suggestion that Motsepe’s failure to directly deny the allegation amounted to corroboration.
Mangena says the allegation was particularly serious because it was presented within the broader narrative of a “coordinated disinformation campaign” involving CP officials, potentially portraying Motsepe as participating in deliberate manipulation and reputational attacks.
Witness Mazanga, a “charismatic” pastor, also reportedly falsely implicated Koko in an affidavit in an alleged extortion racket.
Mazanga names two CP officials in his affidavit, Marvin Baepi and Thabang Mashishi, as well as a News24 journalist (unidentified) as suspects in a serious case of harassment, extortion and corruption. Mention is also made of Rindzani Nkanyani, a “middleman” (or, more correctly, a “middle-woman”).
He writes, “These individuals have been using extorted millions of rands from me threatening my life and kidnapping my kids… They operate a criminal syndicate, manipulating tender processes and targeting successful bidders for extortion and threats.”
Seen in isolation, this affidavit cannot be used to justify the statement that Mangena was behind a disinformation campaign – his name is not even mentioned in the document. At best, it can be used to report an alleged case of harassment, extortion and corruption, says the Press Ombud, that also found it strange that News24 accepted Mazanga’s affidavit as reliable but then rejects his words in a taped telephonic conversation to the effect that Koko was involved in the scheme.
On the Executive KMA report the Press Ombud states:
“The only evidence regarding Mangena at my disposal is contained in the executive summary of KMA’s report. As this is important, I document the references to Mangena in that document in full:
a.“… Mangena advised [Baepi] that ‘his friend’ (referring to Mothepe Mangena) wished to apply to be awarded the contract”;
b. “This informal interaction is expressly flagged as ‘not in line with SCM policies and procedures’, as, by Mr Mangena’s conduct, he appears to attempt to undercut the SCM policy’s requirements for fairness and competitive integrity on behalf of Mmirwa”;
c. The document refers to a meeting in Mike’s Kitchen “between the then-CEO of City Power, Ms Tshifularo Mashava, Mr Isaac Mangena and Mothepe Mangena”; and
d. “Mr Mangena’s portfolio is not one where he would be involved in the recruitment process for a service provider in any capacity. His conduct breached ethical obligations requiring impartiality and avoidance of perceived or actual conflicts of interest, even though there is no conclusive evidence that he manipulated the procurement result.”
The Press Ombud dismissed the complaint and ordered News24 to publish an apology to be published, “with appropriate prominence, with the apology in the introductory sentence and with a headline including the words “apology” and “City Power” and in both print and digital platforms, and be published with the logo of the Press Council and be approved by me (Press Ombud).
