Mpumelelo 'It does not get any worse' Mkhabela and challenges for South African media
Earlier this year the Deputy Press Ombudsman delivered what maybe regarded as the harshest judgment ever against a newspaper and its editor thus far in the history of the establishment of the Press Ombuds. The judgement ordered the Sowetan to apologise to the person of the General Secretary of the SACP, who in his capacity as Minister of Higher Education and Training, had one of his speeches not only misrepresented but also seriously distorted.
Amongst other things, the ruling of the Press Ombuds said:
"This is the most unethical comment that I can recall after having dealt with approximately 500 complaints in this office. Let me repeat: I cannot recall ever having seen irresponsible journalism on such an ugly scale as this. It does not get any worse".
What is serious about this is that this is not just a transgression by an ordinary journalist, but by an editor of one of the largest newspapers in our country. As a matter of fact if South African media follows to the letter the standards by which they seek to hold everybody else in society, such a serious finding actually calls for the editor to be fired! It is indeed very sad that a title with such a history like the Sowetan can be reduced to this. Remember it was the same paper that opportunistically and distastefully published pictures of two security officers having sex and to meekly apologize later.
The editor of the Sowetan, one Mpumelelo Mkhabela, instead of carrying out the sanction meted out by the Ombudsman, he unashamedly, through a completely incomprehensible statement, sought to buy time and requested leave to appeal. The application was denied on the basis that there was no grounds the Press Council Appeals Panel could rule any differently from the Deputy Press Ombudsman.
The SACP has no problem with the Sowetan exercising its right to appeal but it is the attitude and conduct of the editor of the Sowetan that we find extremely worrying and calls for the rest of the media fraternity to explain a few things to us. The editor of the Sowetan is given very clear and specific instructions to publish a full apology on the front page; he simply defies and publishes on the second page.
For the SACP this is indeed very serious because the media has been fighting off a media tribunal on the grounds that self-regulation is adequate. But clearly a newspaper editor, not an ordinary newsroom journalist, is clearly disrespecting the institution of the Press Ombuds. The reason why Mkhabela is doing this is probably because he knows that there will be no consequences for such behavior. Frankly, this reinforces our long held suspicion that the reason why the media opposes independent institutions to which it must account, is because it does not want to be held accountable at all, even for serious a transgression such as that of Mkhabela. It really does not get any worse!
What we also find extremely disturbing now is that there is an open collusion between certain newspaper editors with politically partisan groups, parading as neutral intellectuals, like the Midrand Group, without any fear of contradiction whatsoever. Mkhabela is possibly a member of this Group, which he is entitled to but he has no right to turn the Sowetan into an anti-govt, anti-ANC and anti-SACP platform for this Group. For all intents and purposes Mr. ‘It does not get any worse' Mkhabela has allowed his political bias and embededness to blind his journalistic judgement. This is no fair journalism by any standards.
Mkhabela and the Midrand Group's dislike of the ANC President and the SACP General Secretary has seen him run down one of the most previously respected dailies in our country. The SACP welcomes and respects the right of any people to form a group and engage in public debates like the Midrand Group. But at least it must be based on principle and transparency. Frankly, the Midrand Group is nothing but remnants of the 'Polokwane grievers' parading as independent analysts or intellectuals. All they are driven by is no honest critical engagement with the challenges facing our society, but a Zuma bashing club.
The Press Ombuds findings are also a very serious indictment on the credentials of Prince Mashele. To sink to this level of fabricating what Cde Nzimande said is indeed a sad commentary about some of our intellectuals and the quality of their work. It is indeed a blot on the University of Pretoria itself. Both Mashele and Mkhabela are united by a single motive, to insult and parade the leaders of our movement as a paralyzed collective that cannot lead society.
The two spoilers aside, this finding by the press ombuds is something that should be of concern to all those genuinely committed to fair, accurate and quality journalism and reporting in our country. There is indeed a need for South African journalists to internalize and consistently act in adherence to the prescripts of the Press Code. But it is the extent to which the ombudsman is undermined by editors like Mkhabela that makes many South Africans to be deeply suspicious of media self regulation and its real intentions.
All the above calls for some explanation not only from Mkhabela, but the media fraternity as a whole.
Malesela Maleka is SACP spokesperson. This article first appeared in the Party's online journal Umsebenzi Online
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
