I am being subjected to intimidation for putting out information about Southern Africa, and my website is being threatened.

I will be brief with my intro. For some weeks – ever since I set up a forum for a very famous South African journalist – Jani Allan… I have had a lot of problems occuring on my website. That forum of hers was immediately inundated with people expressing tremendous HATRED of her, trying in every way possible to hurt her. Jani Allan was interviewed by Jeff Rense in the USA and that triggered an article in the South African media which the ANC Govt pooh poohed. Ever since then… I have experienced severe problems I’ve never had before.

In fact, a friend of mine who holds a senior position in TAU (Transvaal Agricultural Union), wrote to me after that article reached the media. His words to me were: “You have angered the movers and shakers… WATCH YOUR BACK!”

Most troubling was a very malicious poster who arrived on my site using the fake name: Bob Drubery and posing as an englishman from England, now settled in South Africa. I confronted this man over his lies and eventually had to censor him from my site.

I investigated him and had others help me. We deduced he was a coloured man in Cape Town (though he was posing as a white englishman in Johannesburg).

He was exceptionally persistent and I began to wonder if he was an ANC/Govt propagandist assigned to my website to cause trouble. I will not go through the long list of things he did which I believe, if I had left him, could have resulted in my website being labelled a “terrorist” site… with serious consequences for the people there… due to our anti-terrorist laws…

What really bothered me, was the subtle intimidation. It began, in a discussion with him mentioning exactly where I live. I do not give this information out. But he knew it. Then, the next was in a “joke” he posted, wherein it seemed as if he knew information about things inside my property. Again I ignored it and carried on… Then…

I got home tonight, and at 18h35, my cell phone rang. It was a call from an unknown number I could not trace. I picked it up and I said “Hello”. Silence. I said “Hello” again. Then someone said something unintelligible. I said “What did you say?” Then once more, something unintelligible. So I waited… in silence and decided to just leave this strange person. Silence. Then I hear a man’s voice speaking he starts saying things… quite softly… but I can make them out. He says “I’m going to take your site down”… “I’m going to take your site down”. Silence. Then he says “You don’t print my responses.” (Clearly a reference to my censoring of “Bob Drubery”). Silence. He says “It is a kind of a kak [Afrikaans meaning: crap] site.” Silence. Then he says: “Poes [Cunt]”. And he puts the phone down. He said other things too, but I can’t remember it all. Those were the main things.

I phone the cell phone company and say to them: I’ve just had a threatening phone call. They say to me: Open a case with the Police and then we can investigate. I said to them: This happened just minutes ago – can you get me a recording of our conversation? They say no. Damn!

Ok, this is definitely BOB DRUBERY. He mentioned the events on the website… he has personal knowledge of it. This is the Bob that’s been haunting my website for quite some time now – the guy whom I suspected to be an ANC disinformation artist/malicious trouble-maker.

Remember I said that Bob Drubery is not an englishman – that he could be an Afrikaans-speaking Cape Coloured? Bingo. The man who threatened me over the phone without a doubt had the accent of a Cape coloured – and as I quote above, he used Afrikaans words. Though he spoke to me quietly… I could hear his accent clearly.

This is Bob… whom I suspect is the ANC disinformation artist assigned to my website. I was tracking all his activity without him knowing. I was even watching which articles on my site he read. For example, yesterday, he went and read THREE TIMES… the 2nd article I wrote on how to bypass Government keyword searches in emails! He read it THREE TIMES. But he had a very serious interest in it.

On the weekend, someone posted (under another name) – it could also have been Bob… “I will take this site down… I will take this site down”… It was said on Jani Allan’s forum. Those were the exact words used tonight by my malicious coloured caller.

Is it Jani Allan that they want gone from my site?

There is something else that is bothering me. I’ve not told this to anyone. Another friend of mine – I will decline to give details of his background – but this guy is extremely helpful… also quietly “disappeared” on me in the last 2 weeks. I think he’s still around… but he is shunning me big time… or I don’t know if he has also been intimidated… He used to be in Intelligence… and it could be that he too has seen that something is afoot and coming my way. I’ve been trying to reach him for some time now… and he’s just “gone”… He had info that came from Zimbabwe… and it was really hot hot stuff to do with the farmers there… government people… names. He was going to give it to me… and then… He wrote to me, in a very strange way… NOT HIS NORMAL SELF… and made a weak excuse asking us not to meet. It was strange at the time. Now I’m thinking again…

All this heat that has come my way, from all these angles, have occurred one after the other in only the last few weeks since I gave Jani Allan a forum on my site and since she was interviewed by Jeff Rense. The things that came from that interview have unquestionably angered powerful people here.

How does someone just find my private cell phone number – a thing which is listed nowhere. I only know two people in Cape Town whom I virtually never phone… So how does an ANC (?) Govt (?) malicious agent… know where I live, my private cell phone number, and even details of things inside my property… when he is sitting in Cape Town? Or is this the very indication that he IS a government agent?

Freedom of Speech… yes, that’s what the South African constitution says we have… THEORETICALLY. But do I really believe it? Do I really believe the Police will actually find this person, or will they be blocked? To be honest… I believe I’m completely on my own.

My website is hurting POWERFUL people… Its the only truly free speech that exists in Africa… Its the only thing out there that is pumping out info that most others don’t dare to.

So what now?

I’m going to ask the rest of you what you think I should do – details to follow below.

Firstly, I have never made a business of hiding behind pseudonyms, etc. Though my personal info is not public… my name is. And it bothers me extremely that someone seems to know where I live, etc. No doubt, this is how they want me to feel.

Of all the people pumping out the truth about southern Africa:-
A) I cover the most territory/subjects – in that I try to cover S.Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia and all the crucial and terrible things happening here.

B) Apart from CensorBugBear.com (which covers mainly SA) – there aren’t other sites of any major significance putting out the truth. So myself, and my website are pretty vulnerable.

C) I am the only person pumping out this sort of stuff in quantity, who resides inside South Africa and is pretty open about what I’m doing. All the others live outside South Africa. (And maybe this is something I should start considering – leaving the country for good).

D) How important (if at all), is my website compared to others who are putting out info? I am concerned that there are many things on my site which do not exist on any other site on the Internet. I have many photos, videos and other information, in large quantities which does not exist ANYWHERE ON THE INTERNET!

The thing that troubles me is, I do not know what dirty trick is coming next. These people have a monopoly of most of the media. But its my small hobby, which is really irritating them… and is completely out of step with the rest who are forced to toe the line. How can a (virtual) one-man website survive where major media organisations are kicked into line?

Since I don’t make money out of my site (My total income from it in 3 years being about $730… they can’t threaten me financially because I have nothing to lose). I suppose… PHYSICAL intimidation/attack is all they have left, and knowing them, its the sort of thing they’ll do with delight.

I have no formal organisation, I have a normal salaried job where I earn a living, and I’m helped by a handful of volunteers who get no compensation from me.

I’d say, we’re really pretty much nothing… and yet, we may be being threatened by the most powerful government in Africa.

Obviously I’ve done something to truly piss them off in a big way – methinks its getting Jani on my site, and that interview that finally ticked them off enough.

I must say, I feel pretty small and very vulnerable against the powers that be, who could probably concoct anything they want and silence me in one of many ways now that I’ve drawn their attention. Maybe they can slap me in jail on trumped up charges or hit me with lawsuits?

I’m going to report this to the Police, and I will take this up with people since I am theoretically protected by the constitution (I have serious doubts though). I will seek legal counsel. But I doubt any of these things will help, when it comes to people who perhaps know my movements, etc.

I’d like to ask folks for advice, support and input. I would like to make this a joint decision. I will start a thread on the Jani Allan Forum on my site. Please come and give your input.

I have thought of saying this: Folks, I am prepared to try my luck against an extremely powerful and very dangerous system… if people will support me… exactly for how long (days, weeks, months?) I can actually stand up to these people, I have no idea. If people do not want to support me, then say so, and maybe we throw in the towel. But if people do want to support me, then please show it. OR, maybe… here’s an idea… support Jani Allan in the USA so she can get going with her SA Monitoring and Assistance Group? and maybe moving her away from my site will cause them to leave this site in peace again? (Is that possible?)

Perhaps now, more than ever before, you must consider if you want to show your support for me, and my handful of volunteers. If you truly support us… then why not engage in an unprecedented spreading of information about the threat we now face here, which could finish off this website for good? Perhaps consider spreading my mail around… to friends, to family, to forums across the internet, to newspapers, law-makers in your country… to anyone… Freedom of Speech institutes?… just go wild – IF you believe in what we are doing?

I am throwing ideas around. I’d like to hear your views, and your thoughts on what I should do with AfricanCrisis?

Can a teeny weeny website, written, owned and (largely) run by one man… dare to survive against a Monolithic One Party State… a political party that dominates our politics, controls our Govt, our Intelligence Services, Police, legal system, etc… Which can “reach out and touch” (that’s putting it nicely) a one-man effort like myself… and put me out of action in one of many ways… for GOOD?

In Southern Africa… 3 countries are busy descending into the pits of hell. I am trying, for all I am worth, with the resources of one person, and a mere handful of volunteers… to try to make a stand for the truth, and for Free Speech and FREE EXPRESSION OF MY PERSONAL VIEWS. I just can’t see us surviving against such a monster which is going to try to crush out, the very last vestiges of free speech that may exist and that are practised only on this website.

DOES THIS MATTER TO ANYONE OUT THERE?

If you people believe in what I’m doing, then now is the time to show your support, either for me, or for the others in our cause. There are more people now coming out and speaking out about Africa/S.Africa and I hope I am becoming less significant. I certainly do not want to hog the attention.

What should we do? Should I soldier on? Should I take the risk… in the face of intimidation… where there is no place for me to hide or run and just try and hang in there? I am prepared to give it a try… if enough of you support me…

But, what do YOU think…

Should I perhaps take some steps back, and see if that will appease the powers that be… and resign myself to more “orderly” behaviour… and not go as wild as I have been? (Or is that pointless?)

Are there enough people out there who actually give a damn about Southern Africa and us, to actually assist us? Does anyone out there in the big wide world actually have any interest in, or care for the news I am putting out? Or am I wasting my time? Maybe nobody gives a shit… and I might as well call it a day and live a more sedate life??

Do you think, the ANC should silence our voices… FOREVER?

What are YOUR VIEWS?
Jan.