Johannesburg - Commentator and Independent Media columnist Eusebius McKaiser says he was dumped from an SABC radio show this week because of his scathing attack on ANC leaders entitled “‘Good’ guys at top shockingly silent”.
But SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago suggested McKaiser was creating a conspiracy and acting as if he had an “inherent right” to be given space to air his views on the public broadcaster.
Kganyago was reacting to a Facebook post by McKaiser in which he said he had been “uninvited” as a guest on SAfm’s AM Live show after he wrote a column critical of President Jacob Zuma, Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko and other senior ANC leaders.
In his column, blasting ANC leaders for not speaking out about the ongoing Nkandlagate scandal, McKaiser wrote: “Can any ANC politician really be regarded as morally good if they say nothing when the state is being looted?”
His column appeared in Independent Media newspapers and on IOL on Monday.
McKaiser said he had been invited on Monday to take part in a debate on Tuesday hosted by Sakina Kamwendo on Police Minister Nathi Nhleko’s report on the Nkandla affair which exonerated President Jacob Zuma, but that the invitation was then withdrawn.
Kganyago said on Wednesday night that SABC producers had the prerogative to invite and exclude people from the shows.
“Shows get stopped for one reason or the other, things get fixed and that is the prerogative of the people who present the show,” said Kganyago.
McKaiser had on Tuesday evening posted about “Another SABC blacklisting” where he said that he had received a call from the station to “uninvite” him.
“Sakina’s integrity is intact. Spare a thought for her and others doing daily battle at the SABC to have the space to be honest professionals,” he said.
McKaiser said on Wednesday night that he stood by his view that he had been axed from the show because of his column. He said that after Sakina had read his column on Monday, she called him to appear on the show.
“Had this article been pro-Zuma or pro-state then there would not been interference,” he said.
Independent Media