“We are going back to apartheid when we were afraid to communicate.” These were the words of Bongani Xezwi, provincial organiser of the Right2Know (R2K) campaign.
Xezwi was commenting at a picket held outside the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto this afternoon to protest the impending secrecy bill.
The bill is supposedly aimed at protecting state secrets, but critics charge that it poses a distinct risk to investigative journalism and may silence potential whistle blowers in cases of corruption.
This is because it criminalises knowingly accessing classified information, failure to report having said information to the police, and disclosing said information to the public.
“While we understand the need for the state to have [certain] secrets… we want the bill reversed and for the process to start again,” said Xezwi. According to the R2K campaigner the government’s consultation process was poorly executed.
“Government did consult but they did not advertise the meetings widely enough. For example they had meetings in Sharpeville but [in the context of Gauteng] Sharpeville is small. How can Sharpeville make decisions for the whole of Gauteng?” he aaked.
R2K was joined by representatives of a number of community organisations including the Soweto Electricity Crisis Community (SECC), Gauteng Concerned Residents (GCR) and Soweto Concerned Residents (SCR).
“Why do we need secrecy in a democratic country?” said Zodwa Madiba of the SECC.
“We will be continuing to picket in various places until June when we expect the bill to be passed,” said Xezwi.
Thirteen people attended the picket. “This is just a picket. The Gatherings Act says that we cannot have more than 15 people without getting a permit,” said Mbulelo Mngmane, head of the SCR.
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