No access to conference for Ranjeni Munusamy

Jacob Zuma’s aide Ranjeni Munusamy has been refused media accreditation for the African National Congress (ANC) national policy conference in Midrand.

This effectively prevents her from attending the event, she said on Wednesday.

Munusamy worked as a political journalist for a Sunday newspaper before she joined the camp of the ANC deputy president.

She said on Wednesday she was told she did not qualify for media accreditation because she was “not a bona fide journalist”.

Munusamy said she was commissioned by Channel Islam International’s website and radio service to cover the policy conference that started on Wednesday. “I feel outraged because the ANC I know is built on democratic principles and it is completely unfair.”

She said she believed the decision to refuse her accreditation was politically motivated. “They possibly feel that the relationship I have with some senior party leaders is reason to refuse me accreditation ... I would like to know the criteria used when deciding that I’m not a bona fide journalist.”

ANC media official for the conference Tiyani Rikhotso dismissed Munusamy’s claim that political considerations played a role. “If a person is not attached to any established media, they will not be accredited because of the criteria we use,” Rikhotso said. “We dismiss allegations that it was a politically motivated move, and stand by our reason that she is not a bona fide journalist.”

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) said the refusal to give Munusamy accreditation amounted to media censorship. “The ANC has arrogated to itself power to determine who is or is not a journalist and who a media outlet such as Channel Islam International should employ to cover a reporting assignment,” said Misa spokesperson Dumisani Nyalunga.—Sapa