Story by Luyolo Mkentane; pictures and video by Paballo Thekiso
Johannesburg - The South African Communist Party has demanded that embattled SABC strongman Hlaudi Motsoeneng step down within seven days and called on staff to make the public broadcaster ungovernable by disobeying the broadcaster’s illegal editorial policies.
The SACP has become the latest prominent organisation calling for Motsoeneng to be brought to book for running the corporation as if it were his fiefdom.
Organisations such as the SOS Coalition, Media Monitoring Africa, Freedom of Expression Institute, Right2Know Campaign, and the National Association of Manufacturers in Electronic Components, picketed with the SACP outside the SABC in Auckland Park in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
They called on Motsoeneng, who refused to receive a memorandum of demands from the civil society organisations, to resign as the chief operating officer within seven days, failing which they would intensify their campaign.
The disciplinary processes against editorial staff including Radio Sonder Grense executive editor Foeta Krige and senior journalist Suna Venter, who joined the picket, needed to be scrapped and all suspended journalists reinstated in their positions.
They were suspended recently for challenging the broadcaster’s draconian censorship policies, which the ANC on Tuesday described as unlawful, unintelligent, and going against the supreme law of the country.
SACP second deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila called on “unlawfully appointed COO to go. He can’t lead this institution. He has failed it. And the so-called editorial policy that decrees censorship must be abolished with immediate effect. The ANC came out clearly, clarifying that this is not its policy.”
“It is incumbent that we make a call to all SABC workers to disobey all illegal instructions and censorship programme. You must disobey all illegal instructions inside the SABC. And we also call on our workers, in particular our people, to defend brave journalists including Vuyo Mvoko. We must not allow workers to be victimised,” said Mapaila.
Mvoko is a veteran journalist serving as the SABC’s contributing editor and specialist anchor.
in which he severely criticised Motsoeneng’s arbitrary powers and characterised his boss as the “pawn of powerful people”.
In a media briefing on Tuesday, Jackson Mthembu, chairman of the ANC national executive subcommittee on communications, threw Motsoeneng under the bus, saying he was not representing the ANC at the public broadcaster. Motsoeneng is widely seen as an ally of President Jacob Zuma.
The ruling party has summoned Communications Minister Faith Muthambi to Luthuli House on Monday to explain the shenanigans at the corporation. “We can’t allow our constitution to be messed up, we can’t allow ANC policy to be contravened, and that’s why we are meeting with the minster on Monday on this issue,” Mthembu said.
SACP Gauteng secretary Jacob Mamabolo was adamant they would win the battle against Motsoeneng, saying: “We are not making empty threats. When we say you are going, you are going.” He said they would picket outside Gupta-owned television news channel ANN7, and eNCA, where journalists were also allegedly running battles with hostile management.