by Thinus Ferreira
The South African public broadcaster in a terse, late-Thursday statement said that it won't comment on allegations that the SABC CEO and SABC chairperson have been involved in editorial interference in the SABC News newsroom but take the grievances from the SABC News boss Phathiswa Magopeni seriously.
It follows after Phathiswa Magopeni revealed alleged editorial interference at SABC News in written complaints, after she was hauled to a disciplinary hearing set for this month for alleged negligence and bringing the name of the SABC into disrepute.
After the SABC's spokesperson Gugu Ntuli refused to comment earlier this week in response to media queries, the SABC on Thursday after the close of the business day, suddenly issued a terse statement saying that the SABC board "takes seriously the grievances lodged by the group executive: news and current affairs, Phathiswa Magopeni against the chairperson of the board Bongumusa Makhathini and the CEO, Madoda Mxakwe".
"The SABC board assures that the matter is being processed fairly and in accordance with SABC policies. The SABC board believes that the processes underway should be allowed to conclude and will not comment further at this stage."
The latest SABC scandal is once again damaging the struggling broadcaster's reputation and brand, as well as inflicting further damage on the credibility of SABC News.
After disciplinary proceedings were started against the highly-respected Phathiswa Magopeni charging her with negligence and bringing the SABC into disrepute after an episode of Special Assignment was broadcast on SABC3 about the towing industry that still had to be withheld because of a court interdict, Phathiswa Magopeni came forth with shocking revelations of alleged editorial interference inside the broadcaster.
In her 9-page letter, Phathiswa Magopeni slams SABC CEO Madoda Mxakwe and SABC chairperson Bongumusa Makhathini for trying to "destroy" her after she rebuffed their attempts to get her to approve a sudden interview for South African and ANC political party president Cyril Ramaphosa during the ANC's recent election campaign in Limpopo.
Phathiswa Madoda says Madoda Mxakwe is resolute in "hounding" her out of the public broadcaster and that both Madoda Mxakwe and Bongumusa Makhathini called her on 24 October and tried to force her to approve and schedule an interview with Cyril Ramaphosa - a clear transgression of SABC rules against editorial interference by SABC top execs and the SABC board into the operations of the SABC newsroom.
Madoda Mxakwe called Phathiswa Magopeni first and told her that ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe wanted the SABC to do a radio interview with Cyril Ramaphosa. Phathiswa Magopeni said no and that doing a special interview would have "made a mockery" of SABC News.
"The calls I received from Madoda Mxakwe went beyond seeking clarity about why the interview could not be done. He was putting undue pressure on me to co-ordinate that the interview be done, despite this falling outside the news division's editorial processes and being outright interference. I refused."
"He even mentioned having spoken to the minister about the issue, which I found bizarre because this was an editorial matter. I kept explaining why this was wrong and in violation of the prescribed editorial processes," Phathiswa Magopeni writes.
Then suddenly Bongumusa Makhathini called Phathiswa Magopeni although SABC board members are not allowed to do that and are prohibited from editorial interference at SABC News. He asked Phathishwa Magopeni what is happening with the Cyril Ramaphosa interview.
"I said I had done nothing because it would have been an editorial transgression. He went as far as saying the ANC president was in his final leg of the campaign and would be making his way to the SABC afterwards."
"I asked him what he was coming to do as news had no scheduled interview with him, and there was no preparation for such by editors."
"He asked me if the president would have to leave the SABC without doing the interview. I emphatically said from a news point of view, yes, because no editor had knowledge of that interview and it would be a breach of editorial transparency in our newsroom processes."
In May Bongumusa Makhathini also interfered with the operations of SABC News when he also called Phathiswa Magopeni during the succession battle surrounding the Zulu royal family and instructed her that "the other side of the family" should also be given airtime.
Bongumusa Makhathini also sent Phathiswa Magopeni a white envelope with court papers through a security guard that handed her the envelope in the SABC parking area, similar to the modus operandi that a previous SABC chairperson Ben Ngubane employed where he would scream at staffers and hand them documents.
Phathiswa Magopeni says that SABC News has been banned from reporting about her disciplinary hearing charges and her disciplinary hearing, and says that the SABC's corporate communications team only responds with a "no comment" in response to media queries.
"It is my considered view there is a concerted effort by Madoda Mxakwe to push me out of the SABC with the assistance of group HR using the Special Assignment matter."
"With the public political statements being made about me having affected the electoral prospects of the ruling party, I feel extremely unsafe and I fear for my life. I cannot keep quiet."
The South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) said in a statement that the timing of the disciplinary hearing against Phathiswa Magopeni "raises eyebrows and suspicions of a possible politically motivated witch-hunt".
Sanef calls for "openness in the handling of the matter".
"Given that the waters have been muddied by the blatant political attacks on Phathiswa Magopeni and the SABC over their coverage of the 1 November elections, we call on the SABC management to make Phathiswa Magopeni's hearing public, in the interests of transparency."
