Cape Town - A silent protest by SABC TV news staff, who all dressed in black when they were on camera on Friday, “was not a protest”, according to SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago.
SABC journalists wore black to show their solidarity with colleagues who were dismissed this week for challenging editorial policies, including a ban on airing footage of violent protests.
Read: The clever protest the SABC failed to suppress
Kganyago on Saturday suggested the pictures published on social media sites could have been falsified and could have been taken on different days.
He said wearing black was not a form of protest. “If people wake up and wear black, it’s not a protest,” he said.
It is understood the silent protest had been planned without leaving a paper trail to prevent incurring the wrath of management. If journalists had declared they were going to wear black to protest they would have been “dealt with”, said Kganyago.
“If somebody goes out and says that, we will deal with them. What people don’t understand is that there’s a contract between employer and employee.”
SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng banned coverage of violent protests, but the SABC has reversed this decision.
The fired journalists are fighting their dismissal in the Labour Court. .
They are: Lukhanyo Calata, Thandeka Gqubule, Busisiwe Ntuli, Foeta Krige, Suna Venter, Krivani Pillay and Jacques Steenkamp. Vuyu Mvoko’s contract was not renewed.
Weekend Argus