Wikileaks... Another political tool to discredit opposition parties?

The Wikileaks debacle, that hit the world last year and continues to make waves for many governments, has become a trusted source of information for those wishing to discredit certain players in government. 

I understand that all governments, not only the US and South Africa, perform questionable acts that could result in positive developments for a hand full of people while destroying the lives of common citizens.

However, how much of the information leaked by the controversial site is true? The recent attack against former president Thabo Mbeki, really sparked my interest. It seems that politicians and the media are relying on Wikileaks to unearth some questionable government activities. 

Thabo Mbeki’s involvement in the development of COPE was previously in the spotlight and since the Wikileaks cables “confirmed” this, Mbeki’s camp has been running around trying to clear the former president’s name. 

Unfortunately, the best PR stunt they were able to come with played out like this:

“So far, there has been no need to respond to these enquiries… except to point out that former president Mbeki’s membership of the ANC is well known and his credentials speak for themselves.” 

The question this brings to my mind is... Are the same governments that have been accused of questionable activity now using Wikileaks to discredit the opposition? Let’s face it. If Mbeki really drafted COPE’s policy documents, is COPE then really a political party that I want to trust? 

Why did they depend on Mbeki to do the job for them? Did they have inadequate skills to perform this duty themselves? 

Well, the conspiracy theories could go even deeper. What if Thabo Mbeki was actually asked by the ANC to help start this breakaway party and he drafted the policy documents to sabotage COPE? 

Unfortunately, COPE isn’t coping and party leaders are already losing the grip on the party’s stability.

The reality is the South African public will never know if Wikileaks is credible source of information or just another political tool used to pull the wool over the eyes of innocent citizens.

One thing I would encourage people to do is this. Use your brains when voting and don’t believe the political spew our politicians, from all the political parties in the country, vomit out on a daily basis. 

Just putting it out there...