I write this letter in my personal capacity, without claiming to represent the Damoyi family, in order to voice my disappointment with your decision to publish a story on October 29 about Lehlohonolo "Hlohlo" Damoyi, who died more than two years ago.

I write this letter in my personal capacity, without claiming to represent the Damoyi family, in order to voice my disappointment with your decision to publish a story on October 29 about Lehlohonolo "Hlohlo" Damoyi, who died more than two years ago.

I just wonder whose interest was served, the journalist's or the public's?

It is my contention that the public, your predominantly black readership, has great respect for the dead. It is part of our culture to honour rather than to disgrace the dead. The story overstepped the decency mark.

Without making a judgment on the merits of the journalist's facts, the immediate Damoyi family had decided not to disclose the contents of the letter and that decision should have been respected by all.

My disappointment is compounded when I reflect on the positive experience I had while serving as an intern at your newspaper many years ago.

I had fond memories of a vibrant and challenging newsroom under the tutelage of the then news editor Thami Mazwai, the late Sam Mabe of the political desk, and the late Aggrey Klaaste, then assistant editor to Joe Latakgomo.

As a budding journalist I was always reminded of the positive force that a newspaper could be in building a nation and of the importance of maintaining journalistic ethics at all times.

Nhlanhla Damoyi Johannesburg