The threats came after recent media reports that Mantashe had acknowledged to the Sunday World newspaper that he paid two of its journalists R70 000 to make a story about his personal life "disappear". 

DA energy and mineral resources spokesperson, Kevin Mileham, said Mantashe had essentially admitted to bribing two journalists, and that it was clearly an admission of guilt for which he needed to be held accountable.

"His comments are in violation of the Code of Ethical Conduct and Disclosure of Members' Interests of Parliament, which states that a Member is in breach of the Code if he or she, amongst other clauses, contravenes section 4.1 of the Code," said Mileham. 

Mileham said that, as Members of Parliament, ministers had to be held to a high standard and should provide ethical leadership to the people they served.

"By admitting to paying off two journalists, the minister did not act 'in accordance with the public trust placed in [him]', nor did he 'maintain public confidence and trust in the integrity of Parliament'. If one is ethically comfortable with giving a bribe, it begs to question whether the same individual would find it ethically permissible to accept a bribe?

"This becomes worrying when it becomes evident that the individual at the cornerstone of such claims is in charge of South Africa’s nuclear plans, mineral resources and energy. Furthermore, both the minister and the implicated journalists may have contravened Section 3 of the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act," Mileham said.

The party said it welcomed the newspaper's investigation into the matter and hoped that it holds the implicated journalists to account.

News24