Sechaba ka’Nkosi
African National Congress politicians have allegedly taken a direct hand in a disciplinary hearing against an SABC journalist.
The hearing is threatening relations between junior staffers and senior managers at the SABC, where three trade unions have vowed to act against any victimisation.
At the centre of the tensions are allegations that Northern Province Premier Manne Dipico masterminded the suspension of SABC radio news journalist Brian Vel in Kimberley, following a story published in the Mail & Guardian. Vel’s suspension was unprocedural: it came from the SABC’s group head of human resources, Ntombi Langa-Royds, instead of the journalist’s immediate line manager.
Vel has been charged with providing details in an investigation which alleged Dipico was involved in a diamond-deal trap that resulted in the arrest of a local businessman.
Vel turned to the M&G with his investigation in frustration after his regional news editor, Bernard Koma, refused to use the story, claiming it was too controversial, incomplete and inaccurate.
The story was however strong enough for the SABC’s flagship current affairs programmes on SAfm, and SABC TV used the story.
Dipico’s aides tend to treat the Kimberley office of the SABC as a fiefdom, journalists claim. Their airtime is unrestricted and they often visit Koma’s office, where they sometimes even answer the telephones.
SABC representative Enoch Sithole has scotched rumours of political manipulation. He says the corporation receives hundreds of letters from different political parties accusing it of biased coverage.
But he confirms there are growing divisions in newsrooms between government officials, regional managers and journalists who are seen to be hostile to certain political parties.
“I know there is a lot of tension in our newsrooms throughout the country between journalists and those they report to. But the Kimberley issue is so serious that Koma has been receiving death threats since the incident, and part of the matter is now in the hands of the police. In fact, the SABC is investigating more charges against the employee [Vel].”
Journalists in Kimberley say the case represents growing attempts by senior ANC officials in the province to strangle the media, which have led in some instances to journalists being assaulted. Last month, Diamond Fields Advertiser reporter Baldwin Ndaba was attacked by an ANC Youth League provincial secretary for linking his late brother to a cabal within the provincial executive committee.
Vel was told he might be suspended after Koma met ANC Northern Cape provincial secretary John Block and Dipico’s representative, Sello Matsie, in his office. Matsie and Block had earlier asked Vel to reveal his sources in front of Koma, a request with whichVel refused to comply.
Langa-Royds’s letter accuses Vel of being involved in irregularities pertaining to “the leaking of SABC news articles to – and writing for – competitors without having had permission to do so. You are herewith informed that your services with the SABC are being suspended with full remuneration with immediate effect, pending an investigation.”
Vel’s editor-in-chief, Barney Mthombothi, appears to have been bypassed in the dispute.
The only SABC region which seems to have succeeded in bringing journalists and politicians to a common understanding is KwaZulu- Natal, where a code of conduct was signed in 1996.
The Freedom of Expression Institute says while the SABC reserves the right to institute grievance procedures against its employees, it is worried that a common factor in these hearings is political intervention.
Says representative Raashied Galant: “If a regional editor feels the story is not complete when a national current affairs programme feels it’s newsworthy, that raises a lot of questions. While we are not saying editors must account for all their decisions, we feel they must also be investigated for selective use of stories.”