Оңтүстік Африкадағы ақпараттық жанжал: «Малдергейт» ісі

South African politician scandal

The Muldergate scandal, also known as the Information Scandal or Infogate, was a South African political scandal involving a secret propaganda campaign conducted by the apartheid Department of Information. It centred on revelations about the department's use of a multi million rand secret slush fund, channelled from the defence budget, to fund an ambitious series of projects in publishing, media relations, public relations, lobbying, and diplomacy. Most ambitiously, the fund was used to establish a new pro government newspaper, the Citizen, and in attempts to purchase both the Rand Daily Mail and the Washington Star. The projects, involving a total amount of at least $72 million (over $300 million in 2021 terms), aimed primarily to counter negative perceptions of the South African government in foreign countries, especially in the West. The scandal broke in 1977 and implicated the Prime Minister, B. J. Vorster. Also centrally involved in "Project Annemarie" were Eschel Rhoodie, Secretary of Information; Connie Mulder, Minister of Information, and a rising star in the National Party; and Hendrik van den Bergh, the Head of the Bureau for State Security. A series of internal investigations, inquiries, and media exposés culminated in the resignation in disgrace of all four men. In fact, during the course of the scandal, Vorster resigned twice, first from the Prime Ministership and then from the State Presidency. P. W. Botha, Vorster's successor as Prime Minister, was Minister of Defence throughout Project Annemarie's lifespan and was implicated in facilitating the slush fund, but he was ultimately cleared of all wrongdoing. Rhoodie was prosecuted for fraud and theft, and one other participant, American media magnate John P. McGoff, also faced criminal charges related to the scandal.

The Project had initially planned to arrange the sale of the Rand Daily Mail, the most staunchly anti apartheid national newspaper of the era, to Louis Luyt, a conservative business tycoon who would steer the paper in a more sympathetic editorial direction. When shareholders refused to sell to Luyt, the Project decided to establish an entirely new pro government, but ostensibly independent, English language newspaper.

In 1974, the Project also attempted to facilitate the sale of the American Washington Star, with similar plans to sway its editorial policy toward a favourable view of the South African government. The intention was probably to use the newspaper to influence American foreign policy on South Africa and to attack liberal Democrats. McGoff went on to use part of the funds to purchase an interest in the Sacramento Union, and was ultimately investigated and charged by the American Department of Justice for acting as the agent of a foreign nation.

Also in July 1978, Vorster appointed BOSS to conduct a special internal investigation into financial irregularities in the use of the secret accounts. The BOSS auditor was Loot Reynders. In late September, the report of the Reynders inquiry was leaked in a nationalist newspaper in Mulder's constituency. The report was remarkably brief and found no irregularities, clearing Mulder and his department. The leak came only days before an internal National Party leadership election in which Mulder was slated to compete – he had previously held substantial political power as the Party's apparent "crown prince." However, despite Reynders's favourable report, Mulder lost the leadership election to Botha.