S.Africa: Minister pressed to resign over leaked video

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - A controversial video of the home affairs minister leaked online is leading for calls for Malusi Gigaba to step down.

Gigaba apologized on Sunday for the sexually explicit video, saying his phone had been hacked and individuals had demanded huge sums of money from him before they leaked it online.

“I take this opportunity to publicly apologize, in advance, to the rest of my family -- especially my kids, my mom and my in-laws -- and the South African public for the pain and embarrassment the likely wider distribution of this private material will cause,” he said in a statement.

Despite the apology, many South Africans pressed for his resignation.

“The minister has embarrassed himself and the ruling ANC government. I think he should resign and keep a low profile,” Johannesburg resident Musa Azad told Anadolu Agency.

Professor Andre Duvenhage of Northwest University told Anadolu Agency if that if such a scandal took place in a Western country, Gigaba would have stepped down at once.

“I don’t think the minister will resign, but it is the right thing to do. He defends himself by saying the video was private and not meant for public use,” Duvenhage said in an interview.

But some expressed sympathy, saying what he does in private should not be used to judge him.

“Let’s be fair. Minister @mgigaba should be held accountable for his work and conduct,” Thuli Madonsela, who served as public protector from 2009 to 2016, wrote on Twitter.

"What he does in private without harming anyone or the dignity of his office is nobody’s business. The person to resign and face other consequences is the one that distributed the video."

South Africa’s intelligence inspector-general said Monday it is investigating a complaint by the minister that his cellphone was hacked.