ANC condemns attack on journalist

An attack on a reporter this week in Queenstown, Eastern Cape, was condemned by the ANC in the province.

"The ANC in the province rebukes this evil conduct," spokesman Mlibo Qoboshiyane said in a statement.

"We call on journalists not to be deterred from doing their work, fairly and ethically [by] thuggery [sic] hotheads."

The SA National Editors' Forum (Sanef) earlier said Zolile Menzelwa, a journalist working on The Rep, a Queenstown weekly newspaper, was knocked down by two assailants on Sunday evening.

They apparently stood on his chest and dropped a brick on his ankle.

The two men warned Menzelwa to stop writing about the mayor. This pointed to political motivation for the assault, said Sanef.

Qoboshiyane said people should approach the courts or the Press Ombudsman if they had complaints about published material.

"This comes after a spate of worrying attacks on journalists who were reporting on strikes in the Western Cape in recent weeks, and the intimidation of a reporter covering a protest at the University of Fort Hare by a policeman on duty there," Sanef said in a statement.

"Together, these incidents indicate an uncalled-for hostility towards the media and journalists, who are carrying out their professional duties in keeping the public informed."

"Let anyone who has issues with the media engage the editors [and] reporters and if they don't find joy, lodge their complaints with the Press Ombudsman or a court of law."

He said harassing reporters would help no one.

On Wednesday, Sanef said the case had been reported, but that no charge was laid because Menzelwa could not identify his attackers.

Sanef said it was happy that Menzelwa's employers, the Times Media Group, had beefed up security at his home and would raise the matter formally with the African National Congress.