Journalists from three media houses barred from covering Meyiwa case after 'confronting' witness

Journalists from three media houses — SABC, eNCA and Newzroom Afrika  — were barred from covering the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial in the Pretoria high court for the day on Tuesday.

The order by judge Tshifhiwa Maumela comes after their journalists approached the state’s witness, Tumelo Madlala on Tuesday morning for an interview before he could make it to the courtroom.

This angered prosecutor advocate George Baloyi, who informed the court of the incident and expressed his disapproval.

“It was reported that when the witness arrived at court, some members of the media literally charged at him with cameras, wanting to take his photo. This has petrified and unsettled the witness. While we support the media coverage of the proceedings, the events of this morning are unacceptable,” Baloyi said.

He added that Madlala had to run and find refuge in one of the rooms in the courthouse to avoid the cameras.

Baloyi requested that the court tighten the guidelines the media uses in covering the trial.

Maumela slapped the journalists with a ban for the day. 

“They come knowing ... this kind of behaviour ... would have been deliberately staged. I’m one of the proponents of the public interest ... but never at the expense of the proceedings that run in court,” Maumela said.

Maumela ordered that the journalists from the three media houses leave the courtroom and ordered they meet the court manager to resolve the situation.

Madlala, who was in the house the day Meyiwa was killed in Vosloorus on the East Rand, is the first such witness to take the stand.

The trial continues.

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