A journalist working for the BBC has come under fire this week after he was accused of falsifying information about rape in Diepsloot.

The documentary alleges that an HIV-positive man called David raped scores of women in the Johannesburg-based settlement, infecting them with the deadly disease.

BBC documentary disputed by Diepsloot citizens

Golden Mtika is the filmmaker behind My Neighbour – The Rapist. He interviews David, his former girlfriend who claims that he raped her, and members of the community who detail how they beat suspected rapists to death.

However, Drum Magazine sent their own camera crew to Diepsloot and were told a very different story by those featured in Mtika’s production.

David claimed that he thought he was taking part in a dramatisation. He said that he was given a script and told to come up with ideas and motivations for his character.

David relayed a story about how he was sexually abused as a teenager, which warped him and turned him into a deviant. But from a secret location away from the township, he informed Drum that this was all a lie.

“We were paid to act”

The aforementioned ex-girlfriend also told the magazine that their stories were made-up and that they were convinced the set-up was for a fictional story.

Who to believe? Well, the BBC have given Mtika a huge vote of confidence. The broadcaster issued a statement, saying the program meets all their editorial standards and that none of those featured in the documentary were paid to act.

“There was no scripting of interviews and all interviewees provided accounts with full consent. It is completely untrue that any money was paid to contributors to take part in this documentary. We stand by our journalism.”

David also revealed that Mtika lead him to believe the documentary would not air in South Africa and that it was a small British production. He is adamant that the production team gave him R350 up front, and promised to pay him more once it was televised.

Mtika is yet to break his silence on the issue, whereas local police are still trying to verify whether David is actually an HIV-infected rapist or not.