The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) has called on the leaders of the MK Party (MKP) and the March and March movement to halt the harassment of journalists.
The most recent case involves a “vitriolic” statement issued on Monday by the MKP attacking Business Day political editor Hajra Omarjee. She reported that people close to former president Jacob Zuma say there are discussions about a possible repeat of the 2021 unrest as the wave of anti-migrant protests builds up to a June 30 deadline.
The MKP said its founding president has repeatedly called for peace, discipline and lawful political activism. “Any attempt to link him to unrest without a shred of credible evidence is a deliberate act of political mischief designed to tarnish his name and reputation.”
Using inflammatory language against Omarjee, the party accused her of engaging in factional political rhetoric.
The editors’ forum said it had deep concerns about “the alarming readiness of certain politicians and political parties to attack journalists whenever reports are published or broadcast that they disagree with or dislike”.
“Omarjee has every right to investigate, consult her sources and publish verified stories that strictly adhere to the press code. If the MK Party is aggrieved by any published or broadcast content, it has recourse to legitimate, established institutions such as the Press Council or the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa, rather than resorting to derogatory name-calling, harassment and intimidation.”
Targeted for exposing rhetoric
Sanef said there is a dangerous trend linking the rhetoric of MKP to the activities of March and March movement supporters, who have aggressively confronted, harassed and intimidated journalists and media crews across three provinces: the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
“Journalists are not being targeted for any illegal acts, but rather for exposing xenophobic rhetoric, fact-checking anti-immigration public claims, and reporting on the violence that frequently accompanies these protests.
“The movement’s leadership has aggressively pushed back against media houses that label their activities xenophobic, resulting in severe hostility on the ground to prevent reporters from filming or documenting chaos, particularly when protests degenerate into assaults against, and looting of, foreign nationals’ businesses,” the editors’ forum said.
Sanef said violations of media freedom perpetrated by the movement, its leadership and supporters include the following:
Online harassment and doxxing
Daniel Steyn and Ashraf Hendricks (GroundUp): Following critical investigative pieces by Steyn exposing the movement’s rhetoric, and multimedia documentation by Hendricks debunking their claims, both journalists were subjected to heavy online trolling, harassment and intimidation by movement supporters.
Also in Cape Town, the March and March Cape Town movement published photographs of journalists Wesley Fester and Saawmiet Moos on its social media with the explicit intent to track and target them, which is a dangerous violation of press freedom and basic ethics. It called on its supporters to target these individuals, shifted from peaceful public assembly to incitement and harassment.
Sibongakonke Shoba (Sowetan editor-in-chief): After writing a widely read column critical of March and March’s vigilante actions, followers retrieved and circulated pictures of Shoba and his family online. This was strongly condemned by Sanef as a dangerous attempt to intimidate a journalist by targeting his family.
Public confrontations by leadership
MDN News Reporter: During a separate media address, Ngobese-Zuma publicly clashed with a journalist and subjected the reporter to intense public hostility.
Physical hostility and regional warnings
KwaZulu-Natal (Pietermaritzburg assaults): During a large demonstration in the Pietermaritzburg CBD, a mob broke off into nearby informal settlements, violently assaulting foreigners. On-scene journalists trying to document the violence faced direct physical threats and hostility from the crowd to prevent them filming.
In Durban: DW correspondent Dianne Hawker-Kalubi and her camera operator were physically manhandled after asking questions of March and March leader Ngobese-Zuma. Ngobese-Zuma’s bodyguards physically pushed the team and covered their camera during a live broadcast, forcing police to intervene.
Gauteng (Johannesburg CBD): As the movement expanded its campaign to Johannesburg, reporters from major media outlets were subjected to intense intimidation while trying to cover demonstrations outside the Gauteng legislature.
News24 journalists have been threatened, shoved and ordered to delete footage of violent, anti-immigrant attacks by the movement’s supporters, Sanef said. On Wednesday, the movement again had a confrontation with News24 journalists in an attempt to dictate how they should do their job, “which is a deeply troubling escalation that threatens the safety of media workers and the public’s right to information by aggressively cornering, intimidating or physically obstructing reporters”.
“It is crossing the line from political activism into outright censorship. Furthermore, the movement’s communications team has accused specific Gauteng-based political journalists of carrying out a biased ‘smear campaign’, threatening that reporters will be barred from future events,” Sanef said.
“This sharp rise in verbal abuse, cyberbullying and physical harassment of media personnel should not be tolerated in a constitutional democracy.”
No movement or political party has the right to demand that camera crews delete footage, and threatening reporters on the ground [is a direct assault] on the constitutional right to freedom of expression and a free press, said Sanef.
“These tactics not only directly jeopardise the physical safety of working journalists in the field but also attempt to create a hostile environment aimed at silencing accountability and transparency.”
The media must be allowed to do its work without fear, favour or political bullying, Sanef said.
“The intimidation of the press should be frowned upon by all sectors of society, and we call on the leadership of both the MK Party and the March and March movement to rein in their supporters if they genuinely believe in the principles of our constitutional democracy.”
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