South Africa was an area of concern for the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa)‚ which on Tuesday saluted “all the champions of media freedom and freedom of expression across the world who have assumed the risks associated with such an effort”.
On World Press Freedom Day 2016‚ Misa said that South Africa “is seen as one of the more progressive countries on the continent‚ enjoying a well-developed and plural media system with a strong Constitution that protects freedom of expression and of the press”.
But‚ “this high standing is in danger of decline as the governing party‚ the African National Congress (ANC) intensifies political pressure on the public-run media and clamps down on the commercial media”.
“World Press Freedom Day each year presents an opportunity to evaluate press freedom around the world. Our state of the media report for 2015‚ So This Is Democracy?‚ articulates the challenges and victories documented and analysed by MISA during the course of 2015‚” Misa said.
According to the report‚ “South Africa 2015 violations & victories” included:
February 12 — Journalists in Parliament to hear the State of the Nation Address by President Jacob Zuma were astonished when their cell phones would not respond. They found that the State Security Agency had installed a signal blocking device to thwart any attempt to use unmanned aircraft drones to attack the president or parliament and this had rendered the phones inoperable. The one bright spot was the immediate disabling of the device when journalists complained.
February 12 — Journalists instituted a court action against Parliament’s broadcasting team for failing to transmit pictures of mis-behaviour of MPs and the turmoil that erupted when police ejected Economic Freedom Front (EFF) MPs. The cameras were switched from the scuffling MPs to the face of the Speaker‚ preventing viewers from seeing the disruption. In May two of three judges ruled against the journalists who have appealed.
March 15 — Western Cape Government calls for boycott of newspaper Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille instructed Western Cape Government provincial departments to cancel their subscriptions to the Cape Times‚ a local newspaper. The directive to end subscriptions followed the publication of a report earlier this month titled‚ ‘Foetal alcohol syndrome’ sad legacy: The story of baby Thomas.’ The DA Premier Helen Zille responded to the article‚ criticising the facts of the story and the newspaper’s alleged refusal to cooperate in locating the perpetrators.
April 8 — Paarl Post community newspaper journalist Frans le Roux was physically prevented by a security guard from the Passenger Rail Authority of SA (Prasa) from taking pictures of a train derailment in Paarl. Le Roux was trying to take pictures from a public road when the guard stormed at him and stopped him. The editor has lodged a complaint with Prasa and pointed out that the newspaper had experienced similar interference from Prasa security guards in the past. Although taking pictures on railway property can be banned‚ photographers are free to take pictures of scenes on railway property from a public road or place.
April 9 — Pretoria Rekord journalist Eliot Mahlase was detained for hours by the Tshwane Metro police and forced to delete pictures he had taken with his cell phone of a policeman stopping and detaining a motorist‚ presumably for alleged reckless driving. Mahlase said the police manhandled the motorist. He was shocked when a policeman he had photographed tried to push him into the back of a police van. He protested he was not a criminal and that he had taken the pictures legally in a public street. He was taken to the Garsfontein police station where he was ordered to delete the pictures from the phone and hand the phone to the officer. After a senior member of the Rekord staff had intervened he was released some hours later. He lodged a formal complaint with the metro police and laid a criminal charge. At a meeting between the editor and deputy editor with the Metro police on April 14 the TMPD promised to investigate. Later they disputed Mahlase’s allegations. The outcome is not known.
April 15 — After using his cellphone to take pictures of police acting against looters in Jeppestown‚ Johannesburg‚ Eyewitness News reporter Thembekile Mrototo was forced by a police officer to hand over the phone. The officer deleted the pictures and then handed back the phone. The officer was not wearing his police badge.
April 19 — Sunday Times senior photographer James Oatway filming rioting in Alexandra Township‚ Johannesburg‚ captured a violent attack by a group of men on Mozambican shopkeeper Emmanuel Sithole who was butchered with knives‚ beaten with a heavy wrench and left for dead. He died shortly afterwards. Oatway’s picture‚ which appeared on the front page of the paper‚ shocked readers. He was asked whether he should have tried to save the man‚ but Oatway‚ clearly worried about his own safety‚ said there wasn’t time and he did what he was expected to do and that was to show people what was happening.
April 21 — A reporting team from the Daily Sun covering riots by taxi drivers in Cape Town where two Golden Arrow buses had been set on fire were assaulted and abused by the drivers. Reporter Mandla Mnyakama and photographer Lulekwa Mbadamane parked their car near one of the burning buses and as they got out were stormed by 20 men armed with bricks who demanded to know why they were taking pictures. They searched the journalists and grabbed Lulekwa’s camera which she was hiding under her jacket. They smashed it on the road‚ destroying it‚ and also took her cell phone. They ordered the two to drive off “if they didn’t want to die”‚ before pelting their car with stones.
April 21 — Photographer Mathews Baloyi was safely escorted out of Jeppestown in the evening just before the military and police raid of the area after residents who saw him raise his camera started threatening to beat him and other journalists for the Sunday Times pictures of Emmanuel Sithole being killed in Alex which led to the arrest of four suspects (See April 19 item above).
June 1 0 Sanef complained to the Johannesburg Metro Police Department that JMPD officers prevented Enca cameraman Pierre le Roux and Beeld photographer Cornel van Heerden from filming the officers arresting a drunk driver outside the South Gauteng High Court a week earlier by manhandling the journalists. In the scuffle Le Roux’s camera was damaged. Sanef was assured that an investigation had been instituted but the outcome is not known.
July 27 — Daily Sun journalist Luvuyo Mehlwana was hit on the head and fell down while covering a protest march by parents against the Eastern Cape Education Department in Port Elizabeth’s northern areas over an alleged shortage of teachers. The protest turned violent and police and cars were pelted with stones. Mehlwana was trampled on as he lay on the ground and robbed of his laptop‚ camera‚ wallet and cell phone. He sustained serious injuries. His camera was recovered‚ but the pictures and video on it had been deleted. He opened a case of assault and theft.
August 6 — Police officer warns cameraman he is “in trouble” if pictures take The Citizen photographer Allister Russell was briefly detained by a police officer while taking pictures of a march on the University of Johannesburg’s Auckland Park campus by the EFF Student Command. The officer said Russell would “be in trouble” if pictures of him appeared in the newspaper. Police officers pushed him away when he tried to photograph the arrest of scores of young students.
August 7 — The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) expressed outrage at an attack on Rapport journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh by the former chief executive officer of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa)‚ Lucky Montana. Myburgh visited Montana’s new house in Waterkloof‚ Pretoria‚ in his car after allegations of impropriety over the financing of Montana’s properties surfaced. After Montana questioned his presence at the house‚ Myburgh drove off and Montana threw a brick at the car‚ striking a rear door which was damaged. Myburgh laid charges
against Montana at a police station.
August 18 — Amukelani Rikhotso‚ on trial for allegedly causing the accident that killed Public Service and Administration Minister Collins Chabane reacted violently when SABC cameraman Llywellyn Carstens began taking pictures of him walking down the street after appearing in court. He smashed the camera in Carstens’ face. Carstens said‚ “You know in court when you want a shot‚ you follow people. I followed him down the street and he turned and smashed the camera in my face.” He laid a charge of common assault and malicious damage to property.
September 20 — The ANC held a workshop in Modderfontein‚ Johannesburg‚ to discuss its announcement that it plans to scrap criminal defamation law. It stated that defamatory statements made through the media should not be considered a criminal offence. It was seeking the views of media and other organisations upholding freedom of expression and received total support. Draft legislation to scrap the law is expected to come before the cabinet in the first half of 2016.
The full report is available here:
http://misa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/MISA-state-of-the-media-STID-2015-1.pdf
SA media freedom - violations and victories
On World Press Freedom Day 2016‚ Misa said that South Africa “is seen as one of the more progressive countries on the continent‚ enjoying a well-developed and plural media system with a strong Constitution that protects freedom of expression and of the press”.
But‚ “this high standing is in danger of decline as the governing party‚ the African National Congress (ANC) intensifies political pressure on the public-run media and clamps down on the commercial media”.
“World Press Freedom Day each year presents an opportunity to evaluate press freedom around the world. Our state of the media report for 2015‚ So This Is Democracy?‚ articulates the challenges and victories documented and analysed by MISA during the course of 2015‚” Misa said.
According to the report‚ “South Africa 2015 violations & victories” included:
February 12 — Journalists in Parliament to hear the State of the Nation Address by President Jacob Zuma were astonished when their cell phones would not respond. They found that the State Security Agency had installed a signal blocking device to thwart any attempt to use unmanned aircraft drones to attack the president or parliament and this had rendered the phones inoperable. The one bright spot was the immediate disabling of the device when journalists complained.
February 12 — Journalists instituted a court action against Parliament’s broadcasting team for failing to transmit pictures of mis-behaviour of MPs and the turmoil that erupted when police ejected Economic Freedom Front (EFF) MPs. The cameras were switched from the scuffling MPs to the face of the Speaker‚ preventing viewers from seeing the disruption. In May two of three judges ruled against the journalists who have appealed.
March 15 — Western Cape Government calls for boycott of newspaper Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille instructed Western Cape Government provincial departments to cancel their subscriptions to the Cape Times‚ a local newspaper. The directive to end subscriptions followed the publication of a report earlier this month titled‚ ‘Foetal alcohol syndrome’ sad legacy: The story of baby Thomas.’ The DA Premier Helen Zille responded to the article‚ criticising the facts of the story and the newspaper’s alleged refusal to cooperate in locating the perpetrators.
April 8 — Paarl Post community newspaper journalist Frans le Roux was physically prevented by a security guard from the Passenger Rail Authority of SA (Prasa) from taking pictures of a train derailment in Paarl. Le Roux was trying to take pictures from a public road when the guard stormed at him and stopped him. The editor has lodged a complaint with Prasa and pointed out that the newspaper had experienced similar interference from Prasa security guards in the past. Although taking pictures on railway property can be banned‚ photographers are free to take pictures of scenes on railway property from a public road or place.
April 9 — Pretoria Rekord journalist Eliot Mahlase was detained for hours by the Tshwane Metro police and forced to delete pictures he had taken with his cell phone of a policeman stopping and detaining a motorist‚ presumably for alleged reckless driving. Mahlase said the police manhandled the motorist. He was shocked when a policeman he had photographed tried to push him into the back of a police van. He protested he was not a criminal and that he had taken the pictures legally in a public street. He was taken to the Garsfontein police station where he was ordered to delete the pictures from the phone and hand the phone to the officer. After a senior member of the Rekord staff had intervened he was released some hours later. He lodged a formal complaint with the metro police and laid a criminal charge. At a meeting between the editor and deputy editor with the Metro police on April 14 the TMPD promised to investigate. Later they disputed Mahlase’s allegations. The outcome is not known.
April 15 — After using his cellphone to take pictures of police acting against looters in Jeppestown‚ Johannesburg‚ Eyewitness News reporter Thembekile Mrototo was forced by a police officer to hand over the phone. The officer deleted the pictures and then handed back the phone. The officer was not wearing his police badge.
April 19 — Sunday Times senior photographer James Oatway filming rioting in Alexandra Township‚ Johannesburg‚ captured a violent attack by a group of men on Mozambican shopkeeper Emmanuel Sithole who was butchered with knives‚ beaten with a heavy wrench and left for dead. He died shortly afterwards. Oatway’s picture‚ which appeared on the front page of the paper‚ shocked readers. He was asked whether he should have tried to save the man‚ but Oatway‚ clearly worried about his own safety‚ said there wasn’t time and he did what he was expected to do and that was to show people what was happening.
April 21 — A reporting team from the Daily Sun covering riots by taxi drivers in Cape Town where two Golden Arrow buses had been set on fire were assaulted and abused by the drivers. Reporter Mandla Mnyakama and photographer Lulekwa Mbadamane parked their car near one of the burning buses and as they got out were stormed by 20 men armed with bricks who demanded to know why they were taking pictures. They searched the journalists and grabbed Lulekwa’s camera which she was hiding under her jacket. They smashed it on the road‚ destroying it‚ and also took her cell phone. They ordered the two to drive off “if they didn’t want to die”‚ before pelting their car with stones.
April 21 — Photographer Mathews Baloyi was safely escorted out of Jeppestown in the evening just before the military and police raid of the area after residents who saw him raise his camera started threatening to beat him and other journalists for the Sunday Times pictures of Emmanuel Sithole being killed in Alex which led to the arrest of four suspects (See April 19 item above).
June 1 0 Sanef complained to the Johannesburg Metro Police Department that JMPD officers prevented Enca cameraman Pierre le Roux and Beeld photographer Cornel van Heerden from filming the officers arresting a drunk driver outside the South Gauteng High Court a week earlier by manhandling the journalists. In the scuffle Le Roux’s camera was damaged. Sanef was assured that an investigation had been instituted but the outcome is not known.
July 27 — Daily Sun journalist Luvuyo Mehlwana was hit on the head and fell down while covering a protest march by parents against the Eastern Cape Education Department in Port Elizabeth’s northern areas over an alleged shortage of teachers. The protest turned violent and police and cars were pelted with stones. Mehlwana was trampled on as he lay on the ground and robbed of his laptop‚ camera‚ wallet and cell phone. He sustained serious injuries. His camera was recovered‚ but the pictures and video on it had been deleted. He opened a case of assault and theft.
August 6 — Police officer warns cameraman he is “in trouble” if pictures take The Citizen photographer Allister Russell was briefly detained by a police officer while taking pictures of a march on the University of Johannesburg’s Auckland Park campus by the EFF Student Command. The officer said Russell would “be in trouble” if pictures of him appeared in the newspaper. Police officers pushed him away when he tried to photograph the arrest of scores of young students.
August 7 — The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) expressed outrage at an attack on Rapport journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh by the former chief executive officer of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa)‚ Lucky Montana. Myburgh visited Montana’s new house in Waterkloof‚ Pretoria‚ in his car after allegations of impropriety over the financing of Montana’s properties surfaced. After Montana questioned his presence at the house‚ Myburgh drove off and Montana threw a brick at the car‚ striking a rear door which was damaged. Myburgh laid charges
against Montana at a police station.
August 18 — Amukelani Rikhotso‚ on trial for allegedly causing the accident that killed Public Service and Administration Minister Collins Chabane reacted violently when SABC cameraman Llywellyn Carstens began taking pictures of him walking down the street after appearing in court. He smashed the camera in Carstens’ face. Carstens said‚ “You know in court when you want a shot‚ you follow people. I followed him down the street and he turned and smashed the camera in my face.” He laid a charge of common assault and malicious damage to property.
September 20 — The ANC held a workshop in Modderfontein‚ Johannesburg‚ to discuss its announcement that it plans to scrap criminal defamation law. It stated that defamatory statements made through the media should not be considered a criminal offence. It was seeking the views of media and other organisations upholding freedom of expression and received total support. Draft legislation to scrap the law is expected to come before the cabinet in the first half of 2016.
The full report is available here:
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