‘SABC made me an offer I had to refuse’

Vuyo Mvoko in the Johannesburg High Court last Thursday. File picture: @Gabi_Falanga

Vuyo Mvoko in the Johannesburg High Court last Thursday. File picture: @Gabi_Falanga

Published Jul 29, 2016

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Johannesburg - SABC contributing editor Vuyo Mvoko was told that he could have his position back if he retracted everything he had written and said about the public broadcaster.

The offer, which Mvoko turned down, was made on Thursday morning, moments before he was due to appear in the Johannesburg High Court to challenge the broadcaster on his dismissal.

He and seven other SABC journalists were fired in the past month for challenging the broadcaster’s editorial policy. Mvoko was axed after he wrote an article for The Star criticising the censorship and culture of bullying at the corporation.

While his seven colleagues were reinstated this week, Mvoko was not. He then applied to the court to have his contract enforced after the SABC said he would no longer be used to produce programmes until their dispute was settled.

In the high court in Joburg Judge EJ Francis and the SABC's lawyers questioned why Mvoko’s application should be seen as urgent.

Mvoko’s lawyer, advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, argued that Mvoko's income had been stopped. Also, the longer he was unable to work, the more his economic value decreased because his status as a senior political journalist was linked to the amount of access he had to prominent figures.

Ngcukaitobi said journalists should be able to work without any editorial interference and that in the past, Mvoko, who ran an elections show, had been told to censor information that painted the president in a bad light.

Mvoko’s counsel agreed to re-enrol the case for Tuesday.

Advocate Stephan du Toit SC, for the SABC, asked the court to award the corporation costs for the day’s proceedings on the basis that the application had not been urgent.

Francis said costs would be dealt with on Tuesday.

During proceedings, Mvoko sat in the public gallery with some of the journalists from ANN7 who were dismissed after they booed ANC Youth League leader Collen Maine.

An unperturbed Mvoko said there was no way he would retract his statements.

“Obviously I couldn’t accept that because everything I’ve said or written is true.”

He added: “I have a three-year contract with the SABC which is only about four or five months in.

“So, from where I sit it’s valid and they’re supposed to honour it.”

Meanwhile, a group of SACP members gathered outside the court to support Mvoko. They held posters that read “Stop apartheid style censorship”.

The party also demanded that SABC chief operations officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng and the board be sanctioned.

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@Gabi_Falanga

The Star

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