The ANC claims it has been hacked, after it was discovered that a link for the ANC Youth League led to a hardcore porn video.
The ruling party has been locked in a legal wrangle with web developers who claim they are owed R32.5 million for managing the ANC’s website.
On Tuesday ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said the party was investigating the hacking and was considering taking down the website altogether to avoid reputational damage.
The blouetjie had been popping up for the past few weeks, but has since been removed after social media users started making below the belt jokes about the party.
Youth League spokesperson Sizophila Mkhize said the matter is being handled by the party’s legal team.
“It has been a long-standing issue with Unwembi Communications who are refusing to hand over the website. Our lawyers have sent a communique to them,” said Mkhize.
The letter sent to Unwembi says that porno damages the reputation of the ANCYL.
It further says that the ANC would have delinked the porn page had Unwembi handed over the website to the party, as there is no legal basis to not return ownership.
The ANC lost its bid to get its web domain back after the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL) ruled against it in a dispute with Unwembi Communications in January 2019.
The ANC then had to launch a new website using a new domain anc1912.org.za.
Umwembi Communications, which created and serviced the ANC’s official website from 1997, claims the party owes them R32.5 million.
The company had agreed to hand over the domain after a negotiated payment was agreed on. That failed to materialise.