Right2Know (R2K), a media freedom organisation, has expressed alarm about the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) decision to deploy the army to secure its offices in Johannesburg and Durban. According to the lobby organisation, the presence of the military will intimidate SABC journalists and members of the public who serve as sources for the journalists since they will feel like they are being watched at all times.
On a SABC news channel programme, SABC board chair Bongumusa Makhathini revealed that the army had been sighted in several newsrooms. Makhathini, on the other hand, defended the situation, claiming that they were doing a threat assessment, which included knowing where the exit points were and everything related to security inside the buildings.
Makhathini stated that the SABC’s editorial independence was sacred and would protect it if it was threatened. The public broadcaster should be a beacon of media freedom in an ideal democratic society, according to R2K national organiser Lazola Kati, and the army presence is likely to impede it.
What’s more concerning about the army deployment, she says, is that the SABC had to remove a spying clause granting it access to its employees’ private communications just last week. “We believe that the army’s presence both inside and outside the SABC would create an intimidating environment,” Kati told a Media source.
The presence of the army at the SABC, according to some SABC employees, has caused division. Some welcomed the army’s presence as a method to ensure that the SABC would not be used to disseminate propaganda in the case of an insurrection. However, others believe the public broadcaster is being utilised in the ANC’s political conflicts once more.
According to SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini, the SABC was secured because it is a national key point. However, for security reasons, Dlamini said they couldn’t disclose how many soldiers were assigned to the SABC assignment or when they would leave.
