News24 reports that the SA National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) has condemned the "unlawful and intimidatory" acts by students allegedly aligned to the EFF that prevented eNCA journalists from covering ongoing university fees protests.
"We believe that these acts of intimidation of eNCA journalists by students are rooted in recent tweets by EFF leader Julius Malema encouraging members to not cooperate with journalists from this media house," said Sanef. During protests in Johannesburg on Monday, eNCA reporter Sli Masikane was allegedly accosted by the EFF-linked students who pushed and shoved her and her camera crew during a heated verbal exchange while she was reporting on the protest. Similar incidents have happened to other eNCA journalists during their coverage of EFF events, after the broadcaster decided it would stop covering the EFF's elective conference in 2019 in solidarity with some other media houses whom the party said were not allowed to cover it. "We believe that eNCA is now being punished for this decision … We believe such tactics by any political formation has no place in our democracy as it fuels attacks on journalists. If the EFF has any issues with the broadcaster they, like all other stakeholders, should engage with eNCA," Sanef said.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lwandile Bhengu at News24
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