The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has dismissed claims by former president Jacob Zuma that the public broadcaster disallowed him from expressing his views and opinions.
Zuma accused the SABC of blocking an interview that was conducted on May 22.
The allegations surfaced after Zuma voiced his concerns over what he described as a selective media ban against him.
Zuma is the leader and face of the Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party.
Responding to the news, the SABC said the allegations were not true, “as from the onset of the formation of Zuma's political party, the public broadcaster has covered the party's activities.
“The SABC has contacted Zuma's team for interviews and there was no positive response, and this did not derail the team from trying, and even adhering to the invite from his party to cover its activities, including its rally on May 18, 2024,” it said in a statement.
The SABC clarified that on May 22, Zuma's team contacted the SABC to cover the party's announcement in Durban.
“The SABC duly responded to the invitation to cover the story, the team was only allocated less than 10 minutes and was told not to ask any questions.
In this coverage, Zuma repeated everything that he said at the rally on May 18, 2024, which the SABC covered extensively,” it said.
Group Executive of News and Current Affairs Moshoeshoe Monare stated that "the SABC always exercises absolute independence and impartially in all its editorial decisions and will not at any point suppress anyone's views.
“All editorial decisions are based on what is newsworthy, and the SABC will always cover stories, but the final decisions for final broadcast rests with editors. In this instance, the SABC news editorial team stands firmly by its decision, as there was nothing new that was offered in the interview in question.”
The SABC said it was committed to ensuring that it continued to execute its public interest obligation of providing news that was fair and devoid of ethical drifts in editorial decision-making.
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za
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