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.

Adri Senekal De Wet, Editor-in-Chief of Independent Media, stated: “On Monday we held a media conference aimed at exposing commentators who are actively engaged in subverting South Africa’s democracy by disallowing media freedom in the country, preventing alternative opinion from being heard and stifling freedom of speech. We revealed a sock puppet operated by an individual connected to high-profile politicians and senior government officials.

“Our Group is one of the victims of this account and has been the target of an orchestrated disinformation and misinformation campaign, designed to undermine it and to prevent it from publishing the truth on matters relating to the government and even organised crime.”

De Wet further elaborated: “We can now confirm the following facts:

@Goolammv is Goolam Mohammed Sulieman Vawda.
He is from KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and spends time in Gauteng and the Western Cape.
Vawda has a history of switching political allegiances, having been a fervent supporter of Jacob Zuma, later shifting his support to Cyril Ramaphosa, and now aligning with the DA/ANC GNU.
@Goolammv tweets are often retweeted by troll accounts and a sophisticated bot network.
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 & DA officials.

“We also discovered Vawda’s connections to Ismail Abramjee, who, according to the Laudium Sun, maintains a deep network that traces back to the apartheid era and PW Botha,” De Wet said.

Viasen Soobramoney, Chief Executive Officer of the IOL platform, addressed an earlier mistake in the investigation that was presented on Monday.