The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) on Friday applauded The Star newspaper for taking immediate action against a reporter who gave evidence for the state in a case he was covering.
Said Moegsien Williams, the paper’s editor, on Thursday: ”News reporter Alameen Templeton has been suspended with immediate effect pending an inquiry into his decision to testify on behalf of the state in the so-called lion murder trial in Phalaborwa.”
A statement from Sanef chairperson Joe Thloloe on Friday said: ”The reporter compromised the credibility of journalism and the newspaper is upholding the high ethical standards that all journalists should respect.”
Templeton’s testimony was led during the sentencing deliberations in the trial of Mark Scott-Crossley and Simon Mathebula for the murder of Nelson Chisale, who had been thrown into a lion’s enclosure and killed.
Templeton was immediately pulled off the case because his impartiality had been compromised by his testimony, Williams said.
In the meantime, the reporter has also resigned.
Templeton failed to consult or inform his news editor or editor about his intention to testify, and the newspaper’s lawyers will request the court to expunge Templeton’s evidence, Williams said.
Sanef said: ”The worrying element of this issue, however, is that we can still find a journalist and a prosecutor who decide on such evidence without thinking about the consequences and without reference to the editor of the journalist. This indicates the media have more work to do on ethics in newsrooms.”
Sanef has been campaigning for amendments to laws that compel journalists to disclose their confidential sources or give evidence after covering stories.
”People who talk to journalists need to be assured they are talking to journalists and not to extensions of the law-enforcement agencies.”
Templeton told the South African Broadcasting Corporation he was uneasy about testifying, but went ahead because he was going to be asked questions about an article where he did not have to protect his sources.
He also said he was not endangering anybody’s life and he was prepared to be held accountable for the article.
Templeton, who has covered the trial for The Star since March and was reporting on proceedings on Thursday, testified that he went to the Mokwalo White Lion Project, where Chisale’s remains were found, to determine whether there was any chance of a killing similar to that of Chisale taking place again.
For him, the issue was a public safety concern, he told the court.
What had struck him on hearing evidence during the trial on the disposal of Chisale’s body was that there did not seem to have been any question among the accused of their getting access to Mokwalo, he told the court.
”It struck me as a loose thread waving in the wind.”
Had he wanted to get rid of someone in that way, he would have been worried about what would happen if someone stopped him at the gate.
”What if other human beings see me doing this act with a bleeding man on the back of a bakkie? That didn’t seem to be a concern among the accused,” Templeton testified.
He would have been more inclined to dispose of a person at a deserted cliff rather than a place where there were other people around.
People who keep wild animals have a responsibility to ensure the safety of the public and that there is no danger to public health as a result of the facility.
”I wanted to go there to see for myself if it was still possible this could happen,” Templeton continued. He wanted to see whether steps had been taken to ensure there was not a repeat. However, he failed to gain access to the farm. — Sapa