COSATU statement on the role of the media in the Jacob Zuma saga

In the aftermath of Judge Chris Nicholson's historic judgement in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on 12 September 2008, the Congress of South African Trade Unions urges the South African media to analyse its role in the manipulation of judicial processes in the investigation and attempted prosecution of ANC President Jacob Zuma, which the judge identified and condemned.

Throughout the saga, elements within the NPA and Scorpions have been feeding sections of the media anonymous leaks containing information in the possession of the investigators. The country came to know about this when one editor broke ranks and reported on an off-the-record briefing between the then NPA Director and certain senior black journalists, for which he was unceremoniously fired. We don't know how many further off-the-record briefings happened after that.

The journalists are after all are human beings, who could not resist the chance to be seen to have this information and rush to sell more copies of their newspapers from sentionalised versions of the story presented to them by the NPA and written in a manner that demonstrated its biased views.

This set in motion the ‘trial by media,' which has persisted until today. Day after day the message came across in the press, radio and TV that Zuma was guilty of corruption and unfit for public office. The principle of everyone being innocent until proved guilty was lost in the pages of ‘proof' that he was guilty as charged.

The objectivity of the media flew through the window. Cartoonists and so-called ‘political analysts' have had a field day - ridiculing, lampooning and insulting the image of the ANC President.

His lawyers' entirely legitimate attempts to have charges against him dismissed were presented as mere delaying tactics, one of the many points on which Judge Nicholson set the record straight, pointing out that the delays were primarily the responsibility of the NPA.

Without any evidence to back it up, the media labelled those who came out in defence of Jacob Zuma's constitutional and legal rights as enemies of constitutional democracy, who sought to undermine and violently destroy the judicial system. They wilfully misrepresented their justified criticisms of this particular, flawed judicial process as an attack on judicial independence in general, despite numerous speeches and statements by those accused of this, to clarify that this was not their position.

Earlier comments, from for example the Public Protector, Lawrence Mushwana, who in 2004 confirmed Jacob Zuma's contention that the NDPP violated his Constitutional rights, and Judge Msimang, who struck off the roll the NPA's first bid to charge the ANC President in 2006 were buried beneath all the anti-Zuma coverage.

Because of the information they received from sources within the NPA, many journalists, commentators and writers began to believe that Jacob Zuma was indeed corrupt.

Others based this belief on the false, but much repeated, report that Judge Squires had found that Jacob Zuma and Shabir Shaik enjoyed a generally corrupt relationship. The media ran with this story for months, until Squires had to issue a clarifying note on the matter. But by this stage many in the public would have long ago come to believe that what they read in the media was correct; many members of society may to this day not know of this correction by Judge Squires.

In the process Jacob Zuma was prejudiced, and the drive to discredit and demonise him was synchronised to coincide with his campaign to become president of the ANC in December 2007, which saw the media, including, scandalously the public broadcaster the SABC, united in a biased media offensive to sway ANC Conference delegates in favour of the anti-Zuma faction. This was ‘embedded journalism' at its worst.

Thankfully the delegates were not swayed and still voted for the President they wanted, rather than the one the media were backing.

Throughout the eight years in which the legal process has been dragging on, the media has played a central role in the manipulation of legal processes, which Judge Nicholson identified. Without its lapdog media, the NPA, and those influencing it, could never have convinced public opinion to the extent they did that the steps they were taking against Jacob Zuma were justified. This biased media coverage led to many members of the public being blind to the downright abuse of an individual's rights.

A truly independent watchdog media would have long ago exposed the machinations which the judge has now pointed out. Objective journalists would have pointed out that the NPA Director has no business winning public opinion through off-the-record briefings.

The media should have informed those responsible for public prosecutions that their responsibility is to present their allegations to an independent judge. They should have objected, when the NPA or scorpions pushed brown-paper envelopes under their offices doors, and said that justice could only be served if they used this information in the courts to convict those allegedly committing crimes.

The media should have been aware that a media trial, whilst it may convince many that the targeted person is indeed a criminal, will not in the end convince the majority, who object to this kind of kangaroo court as a matter of principle.

What an indictment of the South African media that it took a brave judge to expose what they had been keeping hidden! The media cannot plead ignorance of the facts, because COSATU, and other supporters of the ANC President, have on many occasions provided the media with all the facts about the case on which the judge based his verdict.

They ignored these facts because they contradicted their own version of the story. They knew what was going on but deliberately chose to suppress the truth, and dismiss those of us who held a different view as ‘apologists and propagandists' for their ‘guilty' man, Jacob Zuma.

COSATU totally supports the constitutional right to freedom of expression, just as it does the independence of the judiciary. But it will not hesitate to condemn the media when it abuses its powerful position in society to wage a dishonest and dirty campaign to destroy the character of an individual and undermine the very judicial system they hypocritically claim to be defending. This is the lesson that some in the media must carry forward. It is not an attack but a lesson to be learned from the saga.

Statement issued by COSATU September 16 2008