[imagesource: AI/NightCafe Creator]

That Goolam X account that has been bent on blackmailing politicians and media professionals has just inadvertently caused another Independent Media Group scandal.

“I am FULLY prepared to reveal myself if you pay the full amount of R300 MILLION you owe to clothing union SACTWU which you borrowed in 2013 to buy independent media”, the controversial and anonymous X account @Goolammv tweeted at some point, making a spectacle of the massive SA media house.

“Alternatively if you don’t have the R300 million, just show us the famous Tembisa 10 babies and I will reveal myself. This should not be difficult at all. We could have a joint press conference, myself and you with the babies,” the account added.

Independent Media’s explosive story about the birth of decuplets, known as the “Tembisa 10”, is still without sufficient evidence to back up the crazy story, despite the media groups releasing an almost-award-winning docuseries about the unfounded phenomenon.

South Africa’s very own Lady Whistledown has been gnawing at Independent Media about it, which caused its journalists along with veteran African National Congress (ANC) member Lindiwe Sisulu to launch an investigation into the unmasking of the X account.

With over 125k followers on X, the mysterious @Goolammv has been successfully incognito since 2018, providing scathing political commentary (and occasional fake news) from the safety of a pseudonym.

Putting itself in the proverbial firing range, IOL revealed recently that they believe a man named Mohammed Yacoob Vawda is the individual behind the controversial and anonymous account.

JUST IN:@IOL has until the close of business today to retract all statements that the X account of @goolammv is that of a KZN lecturer M Y Vawda. Attorney Rupert Candy has warned them if they fail stop do so, an urgent high court application will be launched against them. pic.twitter.com/O8aqa6Skts

— Ismail Abramjee (@IsmailAbramjee) July 17, 2024

But Vawda, a lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a part-time comedian, strongly denied that he is behind the Goolam handle through his lawyer Rupert Candy Attorneys, per The Citizen.

Vawda demanded an apology from the media group and Sisulu, failing which his attorneys would institute urgent application proceedings against the duo.

Then, Viasen Soobramoney, Chief Executive Officer of the IOL platform, along with Adri Senekal De Wet, editor-in-chief of Independent Media, addressed what Soobramoney called “an earlier mistake in the investigation” that was presented last Monday.

IOL and Independent Media on Wednesday provided an update on the ongoing investigation into the @Goolammv X (formerly Twitter) account, revealing significant findings and addressing previous errors in the investigation.https://t.co/mNKLnx911k pic.twitter.com/lR5F3AzosS

— IOL News (@IOL) July 17, 2024

In the video posted on X Soobramoney said “Initially, our investigations identified two individuals linked to the @Goolammv X account, both named Mohammed Vawda”.

“However, during the press conference, a technical error occurred in that the wrong profile was shared with our content teams and the public.”

“This error resulted in the inadvertent and incorrect identification of a UKZN lecturer and comedian as the person behind the account. For this, we unreservedly apologise to Mohamed Yacoob Vawda, his family and friends, our fellow reporters, and to the South African public.”

Soobramoney added that as CEO of the IOL platform, he will be taking “concrete steps” to ensure that such an oversight does not occur again.

“Both IOL and Independent Media deeply regret the error. As responsible media outlets, we have taken the necessary steps to correct the information that was published. We have also attempted to reach out to Mohamed Yacoob Vawda, the university lecturer and comedian, to convey a personal apology to him.”

Interestingly, Soobramoney went on to reveal the name of another person who may be behind the Goolam MV account.

“We have established the phone number linked to the @Goolammv account ending with 561. We have established the email addresses linked to the @Goolammv account. We have linked Goolam Mohammed Sulieman Vawda to properties in Winterton and Morningside in KwaZulu-Natal and Tshwane in Gauteng.

“Efforts have been made to obtain comment from the individual identified behind the @Goolammv account, being Mr Goolam Mohammed Sulieman Vawda, prior to publishing this statement. We have subsequently instructed our attorneys to go ahead with legal proceedings against Goolam Mohammed Sulieman Vawda,” said Soobramoney

Senekal De Wet added that Vawda has a history of switching political allegiances, having been a fervent supporter of Jacob Zuma only to later shift his support to Cyril Ramaphosa, and now aligning with the DA/ANC GNU.

“He has access to sensitive information, including ministerial appointments. Vawda has collaborated with other media houses and social media accounts and has maintained relationships with senior ANC and DA officials,” De Wet said.

She said @Goolammv tweets are often retweeted by troll accounts and a sophisticated bot network.

These are the people who saw the Independent Media Tembisa 10 babies:

Iqbal Surve
Dali Mpofu
Mzwandile Masina
Busisiwe Mkhwebane

It is a list made up of the worst of the worst.
To this day Iqbal Surve still claims the babies are alive. Not sure if the other three… pic.twitter.com/7eMcFIDX69

— Goolam (@goolammv) July 16, 2024

But just like the Tembisa 10 case, there was no evidence provided to back up these claims.

At this rate, Goolam will continue haunting the South African political and media scene with its barrage of wild claims, true or not.

[source:citizen]