Saturday, 7 November 2026:- The headline by Independent Online Media (IOL) “SACP spits on ANC grave: We won our own seats, now come and beg on your knees”, attributing it to South African Communist Party (SACP) General Secretary Solly Mapaila, constitutes grossly irresponsible reporting as it is misleading, and as the SACP we condemn it with the utmost contempt it deserves violates the basic principles of journalism to report fairly and truthfully.

The reporting by IOL falls foul of the recognised legal justifications for media reporting, including truth and public benefit, reasonable publication, and fair comment. It is nothing but a fabrication as the SACP General Secretary did not utter such words during his live engagement with the media at the Results Operations Centre on Friday, and neither did he ever say such in any further media engagements.

Accordingly, the SACP calls upon the IOL to immediately retract the headline, remove it from all its platforms, and apologise for misleading the public. The SACP reserves the right to take further steps available to it as the narrative perpetrated by IOL continues to harm the reputation of the Party.