The ANC Youth League has requested a meeting with the “right-wing” Sowetan newspaper to demand an explanation for the dismissal of columnist Eric Miyeni.
“The ANCYL will soon seek a meeting with those who terminated the column to get an explanation on their application of principles, because they are simply out of line and abominable,” league spokesperson Floyd Shivambu said in a statement.
City Press editor Ferial Haffajee said on Monday she would sue Miyeni over comments made in his column headlined “Haffajee does it for white masters”.
In the opinion piece, which was removed from the Sowetan‘s website on Monday evening, Miyeni accuses Haffajee of being an agent for white capitalists, saying that “in the 80s [she would] probably have had a burning tyre around her neck”.
Haffajee said she would not allow Miyeni’s slight to pass unchallenged. “I think there are many elements of his column that are hate speech and are racist. I was going to ignore it but now I have decided if we all just ignore these things, it sullies our public space and harms non-racialism so I am going to sue him,” she told the Mail & Guardian on Monday.
‘Black snake in the grass’
Miyeni’s column labels Haffajee a “black snake in the grass, deployed by white capital to sow discord among blacks”, saying these views were formed during her time editing the M&G between 2004 and 2009.
His column comes in the wake of a series of articles published in the City Press calling ANC Youth League president Julius Malema’s finances into question.
The newspaper reported that a businessman had allegedly paid money into Malema’s Ratanang trust fund, named after his son, in exchange for securing government tenders in Limpopo.
In the most recent of these reports the newspaper reported that when buying his home in Sandown in 2009, the youth league leader had allegedly paid the R2-million asking price in cash.
On Monday, Haffajee confirmed that after seeking legal advice she would decide whether she would take the matter up with the Equality Court or file a criminal defamation suit against Miyeni.
Shattered, battered, but not defeated
“He was a real role model for many of us. I feel shattered and battered — but certainly not defeated.” Haffajee added.
“The decision to terminate Eric Miyeni’s contract is clearly not an independent decision, but influenced by the right-wing elements who determine the direction of the Sowetan,” Shivambu said.
The Sowetan newspaper said on Monday evening that it had discontinued Miyeni’s column with immediate effect.
“Eric Miyeni expresses robust views shared by many South Africans. This is why he has continued writing a column in the Sowetan newspaper,” said Avusa editor-in-chief Mondli Makhanya and Sowetan acting editor Len Maseko in a statement.
“However, the expression of these views should not be accompanied by the promotion or condoning of violence against those who hold differing views.”
They said that his latest column crossed the line between robust debate and the condonation of violence. — Additional reporting by Sapa