7 April 1998

JOURNALIST SUSPENDED AFTER CONTRIBUTING TO ARTICLE; RULING PARTY ACCUSES JOURNALISTS OF CONSPIRING AGAINST PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

Brian Vel, a radio journalist for the Kimberly bureau of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), was suspended with pay on April 5 apparently because he had contributed to an article which appeared in the "Mail & Guardian" newspaper. In a letter from the SABC’s human resources department in Johannesburg, Vel was informed that he had been suspended pending an investigation into his involvement in irregularities in leaking news to other media and working for other media while in the employ of the SABC.

Using the pseudonym, Sechaba ka’Nkosi, Vel was credited along with another journalist for an article which appeared in the M&G’s March 13 edition. The article detailed various allegations against the Premier of the Northern Cape, Manne Dipico, including his involvement in the arrest of a local businessman for allegedly dealing in uncut diamonds. When confronted by his superiors about the story, Vel admitted that it was him that had contributed to the story. According to SABC rules, an employee of the corporation cannot accept other employment without permission.

Vel told the FXI that he had passed the story on to the M&G only after his editor had refused to use the story. It was the first time he had written or contributed to a story in the M&G. He said also that the day the story appeared in the M&G, the main English-language radio service of the SABC, SAFM based in Johannesburg, had asked him to file a report on the story, which he did and which was used on SAFM.

Vel claimed that there was politics behind his current suspension and pending investigation. He alleged that the African National Congress (ANC) in the Northern Cape was applying pressure on the SABC to dismiss him because of several reports he had filed which were embarrassing to the party. On March 31, the ANC Northern Cape accused Vel, along with another journalist, of being involved with a group of "disgruntled" individuals that were conspiring to destabilise the Northern Cape provincial government. In a media statement, the ANC named Vel and Baldwin Ndaba, a reporter for the "Diamond Fields Advertiser" newspaper, which also based in Kimberly, as being part of an elaborate campaign to discredit the provincial government "through their disinformation campaign in certain publications". Both journalists had over the previous few weeks reported variously on aspects of the ANC in the Northern Cape and the provincial government.

In reaction to the media statement, DFA managing editor Kevin Ritchie denied that his reporters had hidden agendas. He said, "the same zeal is applied to any story of political importance, irrespective of party or creed." In his reaction, Vel said that by attacking the media, the ANC was trying to divert attention away from government scandal. "Government does not want us to publish scandal and therefore accuse the media of plotting against them. The Northern Cape Government wants to hold the media to ransom by saying the media shouldn’t write certain stories," he said.

ENDS