The SABC has used the threat of legal action to attempt to silence a woman who complained about material shown on one of the national broadcaster’s channels.
The woman, a mother of two, filed a complaint with the SABC’s complaints division after her ex-husband, who was shown on 3-Talk, made what she considered to be false accusations about child custody.
The show, aimed at showing how men suffered in divorce cases, presented the woman’s ex-husband as a father whose rights had been infringed by a ”malicious” ex-wife. He also alleged that the children had been sexually abused.
The SABC did not tell its viewers that, at the time, the man was facing charges of domestic violence and of failing to pay maintenance.
Despite her complaint, the SABC declined to air the woman’s side of the story or broadcast a correction. Then its lawyers sent a letter to her lawyers, saying that she was ”making untrue and unfounded allegations against, and defamatory statements of and concerning, officers of the SABC”. It demanded a written undertaking that she would cease making such statements, or the SABC would institute legal proceedings against her.
On July 9 her ex-husband was arrested for allegedly breaking the law by appearing on TV. On August 15 he was convicted of failing to pay maintenance and on September 9 he was sentenced to three months in jail, wholly suspended for five years.
According to the Divorce Act, it is a criminal offence to publish anything pertaining to a divorce settlement other than the fact that the couple is no longer married. The woman’s complaint is that the SABC violated the Act. In compliance with the Act the Mail & Guardian cannot reveal the woman’s identity.
SABC spokesperson Paul Setsetse told the M&G it had ”never instructed its attorneys and they did not attempt to prevent the woman from complaining to the various public bodies. However, the SABC demanded that the woman desist from making unfounded defamatory statements against the SABC and in particular against individuals employed by the SABC.”
The SABC lawyers’ letter said: ”The defamation against [staff members] is serious and ongoing. It is being published over a wide spectrum.”
This refers to complaints the woman made to various organisations, including the Human Rights Commission, the Commission for Gender Equality and the Broadcast Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA).
Public protector spokesperson Nicolette Teichmann says the woman’s new husband approached the public watchdog when the SABC failed to provide a satisfactory response.
Teichmann says the protector is investigating the case ”but nothing has been decided yet”.
The BCCSA dismissed the SABC’s view that the complaints body is an inappropriate forum to hear the complaint, noting that ”the complaint complies with our rules”.
The BCCSA wrote: ”The gist of the complaint is that the interview was unfair, unbalanced and invaded the privacy and dignity of the complainant and/or her children and her partner.” It said the SABC was entitled to argue its viewpoint, giving it until October 2 to appeal against its decision to hear the woman’s complaint.
Where, then, the M&G asked Setsetse, should the public go if there was a complaint against the SABC? He said the question was ”not applicable”.