Marion Edmunds
A black female SABC employee, Hope Zindle, has been charged with assault and intent to commit grievous bodily harm after she grabbed a white colleague, Janet Szabo, around the throat. The matter is being heard in Brixton Magistrate’s Court where Zindle has pleaded not guilty to the charge. The case has provoked a race row in the SABC’s external broadcasting service, Channel Africa, where both women work. A senior SABC staffer said that the case was a thermometer showing how high tensions among staff were
The assault took place on September 20 last year, and it has taken until now for SABC to institute an internal disciplinary hearing into the matter. The SABC is looking at a charge of fighting between the two women, while the courts are testing a charge of assault. Sources in Channel Africa say that the incident took place after Szabo had asked Zindle to be quiet while she was on the phone. Zindle reportedly cut Szabo’s call and a scuffle ensued in which Zindle grabbed Szabo around the throat. Channel Africa’s executive editor Lebona Mabowa said that he could not comment because it was sub-judice and because it was a matter for the SABC to investigate.