Stellenbosch University students on Friday gathered in solidarity with the #SABC8 in what they dubbed #StelliesBlackFriday‚
Despite the rain‚ about 180 students showed up to show their support for media freedom‚ according to James de Villiers‚ vice-chair of the Student Representative Council.
“We are following the court case very closely and these students will not rest until media freedom is restored at the SABC‚” he said.
Four of the eight SABC employees who were fired from the broadcaster this week challenged their dismissal in the Labour Court in Johannesburg on Friday.
They are Foeta Krige‚ Suna Venter‚ Krivani Pillay and Jacques Steenkamp.
One of the speakers at the #StelliesBlackFriday event was Krige’s 21-year-old daughter‚ Dalaine. This is what she had to say:
“There was a diverse and widespread reaction recently when the country heard of the disciplinary action and subsequent dismissal of the journalists now known as the SABC 8. I am not standing in front of you today because I am a media expert‚ an activist or even a journalist. Today‚ I am standing in front of you because I am Foeta Krige’s daughter‚ and I am speaking on that authority.
“On Monday‚ my dad was fired by the SABC.
“My mom is a journalist‚ my dad is a journalist and my sister is a journalist‚ and within our family we often have debates and discussions. With all the recent controversy surrounding the SABC‚ I asked my dad why he didn’t leave. What makes somebody stay loyal to an organisation that is riddled with corruption and crumbling at the foundations? This is what he told me:
‘Never confuse the SABC with the person in charge. The SABC is not Hlaudi Mostoeneng‚ and the SABC is not any one individual. The SABC is‚ and always will be‚ an amazing place to work. And it’s our place. The SABC belongs to each person who works there‚ and to the people of South Africa’.
“He always compared the SABC to home. It’s been his home for the past 24 years‚ and it is a home I know he would not exchange for the world. But that home has been infiltrated by a corrupt few.” — Tiso Black Star Group Digital
Student backing for #SABC8
Despite the rain‚ about 180 students showed up to show their support for media freedom‚ according to James de Villiers‚ vice-chair of the Student Representative Council.
“We are following the court case very closely and these students will not rest until media freedom is restored at the SABC‚” he said.
Four of the eight SABC employees who were fired from the broadcaster this week challenged their dismissal in the Labour Court in Johannesburg on Friday.
They are Foeta Krige‚ Suna Venter‚ Krivani Pillay and Jacques Steenkamp.
One of the speakers at the #StelliesBlackFriday event was Krige’s 21-year-old daughter‚ Dalaine. This is what she had to say:
“There was a diverse and widespread reaction recently when the country heard of the disciplinary action and subsequent dismissal of the journalists now known as the SABC 8. I am not standing in front of you today because I am a media expert‚ an activist or even a journalist. Today‚ I am standing in front of you because I am Foeta Krige’s daughter‚ and I am speaking on that authority.
“On Monday‚ my dad was fired by the SABC.
“My mom is a journalist‚ my dad is a journalist and my sister is a journalist‚ and within our family we often have debates and discussions. With all the recent controversy surrounding the SABC‚ I asked my dad why he didn’t leave. What makes somebody stay loyal to an organisation that is riddled with corruption and crumbling at the foundations? This is what he told me:
‘Never confuse the SABC with the person in charge. The SABC is not Hlaudi Mostoeneng‚ and the SABC is not any one individual. The SABC is‚ and always will be‚ an amazing place to work. And it’s our place. The SABC belongs to each person who works there‚ and to the people of South Africa’.
“He always compared the SABC to home. It’s been his home for the past 24 years‚ and it is a home I know he would not exchange for the world. But that home has been infiltrated by a corrupt few.” — Tiso Black Star Group Digital
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