Nation deserves to know what's really happening with the president

News entities such as newspapers would generally stay clear of a story to which they deem to have been beaten by a rival publication or platform.

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It is called a scoop in journalese or colloquially. But sometimes the sheer weight of the story or subject concerned supersedes such considerations, and the national interest kicks in and dictates what happens next.

We had such a moment at Sunday World this week. A rival on the newsstand, the Sunday Times published a story last week that hinted at the readiness of the first citizen of the country to abandon ship. It said President Cyril Ramaphosa was in the departure lounge, readying to take off into God knows where and leave the stewardship of SA Inc to others that might well be more capable.

Now, it is not news that the president was in New York, at the UN, this week, facing matters international, conveniently or otherwise, removed from what might well be a storm back home.