South African editors fear ‘onslaught’

A South African editor traded verbal blows with a ruling party spokesman on Tuesday as fears grew about a government “onslaught” against press freedom.

“Every single ANC [African National Congress] spokesman who gets a platform slams the media as if we were . . . Osama bin Laden,” said Mondli Makhanya, chairman of the National Editors’ Forum, in a radio debate.

The discussion followed the arrest on August 4 of Mzilikazi wa Afrika, a journalist at South Africa’s Sunday Times, days after he wrote an article critical of the national police chief.

Concern is also growing over the protection of information bill, which is before a parliamentary committee. This proposed law would allow the state to keep secret any information if it decided that disclosure might harm the “national interest”. Any head of a state body would be empowered to take this decision.

A journalist who published classified information would risk a 25-year prison sentence and there is no mention of a public interest defence.

“It is the most dangerous assault on media freedom since the end of apartheid,” said Gary Pienaar, a senior researcher at the Institute for Democracy in South Africa.

The law would also restrict parliament’s oversight role, said David Maynier of the opposition Democratic Alliance. MPs could be prosecuted for asking questions about sensitive documents, instead of handing them to authorities.

Mr Makhanya told the Financial Times that an “onslaught” was “happening at the moment”. An example of this, he said, was the arrest of Mr wa Afrika, who had previously completed an article critical of Bheki Cele, the national police commissioner.

Mr wa Afrika was detained outside a newspaper office where editors were holding a meeting to discuss threats to media freedom. He was accused of possessing a forged letter of resignation, purportedly by a provincial premier. He was later released on bail and his case postponed until November, pending investigation.

“The motivation was clearly political – he had been working on stories about corruption and alleged political killings,” said Mr Makhanya.

The ANC also favours the establishment of a “media appeals tribunal”, which will be discussed at its general council next month.

Opponents said the tribunal could be used to restrict critical reporting. “In all likelihood it will be appointed by parliament and will report to parliament. Given that the ANC will be the majority party for the foreseeable future, it’s clear what role the tribunal will play,” said Mr Makhanya.

Jacob Zuma, South African president, defended the proposal on Saturday, saying the tribunal would help to defend citizens’ rights. “This is not personal. It is aimed at advancing the freedoms that are enshrined in our constitution,” he said.

Mr Zuma has endured a string of embarrassing stories about his private life and several ministers have been criticised by the press for using public money to fund luxurious lifestyles.

If passed by parliament, both the tribunal and the information bill are likely to be challenged in the constitutional court for breaching the right of freedom of expression.

Pierre de Vos, a law professor at the University of Cape Town, said: “The information bill goes against the founding values of the South African constitution, which says this is a democracy based on openness.”