The Inkatha Freedom Party protests outside the SABC's Auckland Park headquarters as leaders meet with SABC execs; claims lack of coverage on South Africa's public broadcaster.

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) on Wednesday held a public protest outside the South African public broadcaster's headquarters in Auckland Park as IFP leaders met with the broadcaster's executives inside while angry IFP members picketed outside claiming a lack of coverage about the political party on the SABC.

Hundreds of IFP supporters picketed in front of the SABC about alleged unfair coverage and a lack of IFP coverage while Mangosuthu Buthelezi, IFP president together with an IFP delegation, met with the SABC's newly-appointed CEO, Madoda Mxakwe; chief operating officer (COO) Chris Maroleng, and head of news and current affairs, Phathiswa Magopeni.

This follows on our march in 2013 and subsequent meetings with former COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng with regards to impartial, independent and fair news coverage for the party.
As the public broadcaster plays a pivotal role in our democracy, the IFP believes that it is important ahead of the 2019 National and Provincial Election that the SABC be reminded and stay mindful of their mandate in serving the public in the best possible way.

Sibusiso Phakathi, IFP Gauteng spokesperson said "We are not being covered as an organisation. We don't know whether it's an agreement that has been taken. IFP is not being televised actually, even whatever good that we are doing. We deserve publicity like other political organisations, because we are all members of the community and we are all paying our SABC licences".

Alco Ngobese, IFP provincial secretary, said the SABC is biased in its SABC News coverage towards the IFP: "We had a big event on 16 June and they did not cover it. We feel like we are treated as though we are not citizens of the country, but we also pay taxes".

Mangosuthu Buthelezi, told the media outside the SABC that "The SABC some time ago requested a meeting with us. There are some issues that we also wanted to discuss with them, and we felt that we should come and talk to them. We are hoping that after this, there will be cordial and normal relationships because we do not expect the public broadcaster to take sides with any political party".

"We are still active like any other party, and we need to have a normal relationship with them. We as stakeholders are able to be given our fair time of coverage through the channels whether it's radio or TV".

Mangosuthu Buthelezi didn't want to tell the media what was discussed with SABC executives but said "we did talk about the past and we mentioned our relationship with them. They understood our grievances and the issues that we raised and we hope that from now they'll have the normal relationship with us that they have with other parties. We didn't come for special treatment".

The IFP in a statement said "As the public broadcaster plays a pivotal role in our democracy, the IFP believes that it is important ahead of the 2019 national and provincial election that the SABC be reminded and stay mindful of their mandate in serving the public in the best possible way".

The SABC didn't issue a statement after the meeting of SABC executives with the IFP and the protest outside the public broadcaster.

BREAKING. SABC UNDER SIEGE: Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) marches on SABC, demands equal and fair news coverage.

Hundreds of supporters of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) chanting "Down with the SABC, down!" marched from the Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newton, led by IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi to the SABC's Auckland Park headquarters today demanding equal and fair news coverage from South Africa's beleaguered public broadcaster mired in crises.

"Down with the SABC, down! Down with the SABC, down!" chanted protesters waving placards and banners, upset with what the political party calls scant, marginalised and biased news coverage of the IFP.

The IFP in its first-ever public protest march against the SABC, says it demands "equal coverage for all political parties in South Africa".

The IFP MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa says the IFP has had enough of the public broadcaster operating as an "ANC and government station instead of a public broadcaster. A multi-party democracy shouldn't work like this. We want an end to this."

The SABC will have to endure another public protest next week. The trade union Mwasa also plans a public march and protest action on Wednesday 19 September in front of the SABC's doors. And a third public protest action for next week is also being planned.

The SABC News division - supposed to have launched a 24-hour news channel at the beginning of September on DStv with substantial investment from MultiChoice - came under sharp criticism this week.

It follows after claims and allegations that the SABC is manipulating news coverage regarding the controversial public figure Julius Malema, the former ANC Youth leader. The SABC on Thursday evening denied news bias in its coverage.

"The SABC is a public broadcaster, and we feel we have not been getting our fair share of coverage," Mangosothu Buthelezi said. "Not only since 1994 but even before then."

"As SABC we shall not be biased to any political parties," said the SABC's acting chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng who met with the protesters. "We are committing ourselves here. We will work together."

BREAKING. Beleaguered SABC headquarters once again besieged - to be picketed Friday by IFP march; to be picketed Wednesday by Mwasa.

Once again The beleaguered and crisis-riddled South African public broadcaster is bracing itself to be besieged again as the SABC, still again mired in management upheaval, will experience public picketing within days from multiple fronts.

The trade union Mwasa and the IFP party are both set for separate public marches and picketing at the SABC's Auckland Park headquarters this coming Friday and Wednesday.

For the first time in the party's history, the Inkatha Freedom Party will embark on a mass march against the SABC this Friday, 14 September. The march will start at 10:00 from the Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newton to the SABC's Auckland Park headquarters where the IFP will hand over a memorandum of demands to the  broadcaster.

The IFP is extremely unhappy over what it calls unfair political news coverage. Meanwhile the SABC's head of news and current affairs, Phil Molefe, is still on "special leave" for five months already since April, with a scheduled disciplinary hearing which is constantly being postponed. Meanwhile the SABC is setting up its 24-hour news channel with funding from MultiChoice without its head of news. This year the SABC has shown major major ANC events as well as lectures on television but are not doing so for other political parties.

"For years the IFP has continuously engaged the SABC over its anti-IFP coverage and the way in which opposition parties are not fairly represented on all of the public broadcaster's radio and television channels. This year, for example, two of the IFP's three major events - its Freedom Day and Women's Day rally - did not receive TV coverage at all," says the IFP in a statement.

"This is coupled with anti-IFP programmes that have been aired, such as The Bang Bang Club. Now the IFP will take to the streets to demand fairness from the public broadcaster. South Africans must demand of their public broadcaster that they be treated with respect and not force-fed and manipulated with political propaganda. This will be the IFP's message when it embarks on a mass march on Friday," says the IFP.

Meanwhile the trade union, Mwasa plans to be picketing outside the SABC on Wednesday 19 September. Mwasa plans to also hand over a memorandum to the SABC, placing several demands for the public broadcaster to address.

"We demand an SABC that works," says Mwasa. "We cannot continue with this regression and crisis management. We believe we are being prevented from performing our role as workers, staff, a corporate citizen and as human beings in serving the country and its people through the medium of the SABC."