Controversy at SABC as Editor–in–Chief under scrutiny before major election

IN FULL: 

– By Charlotte Pion

Press freedom concerns have been raised in South Africa after Moshoeshoe Monare, Editor-in-Chief of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) was allegedly approached by the State Security Agency (SSA), to undertake a vetting process of his appointment as a key figure of the SABC. The process would entail the use of a polygraph – or lie detector.  

It comes just weeks before the general election, and amid other reports highlighting broader pressure on press freedom in South Africa, notably the The General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill (Gilab). There are fears this new draft bill would endanger human rights, including privacy and freedom of expression, as it gives state security agencies the power to conduct mandatory security vetting on any “person or institution of national security interest”, allowing the state to vet any private individual or institution. 

An intrusive security vetting system?  

The attempt of the SSA to subject Monare to a polygraph test has seen the SSA accused of political interference from some civil society organisations. Certain media alleged that Monare – also the Group Executive for News and Current Affairs – is facing scrutiny for the SABC’s critical reporting of the South African ruling party, the Africa National Congress (ANC). 

According to the SABC, all of the public broadcaster’s executives are subjected to vetting as a condition of employment. But one of the key concerns with this particular situation lies with the fact that Monare holds an executive position within SABC, even though he fulfils an editorial role.  

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 This has been raised as an issue by a number of civil society organisations, according to the Daily Maverick, who say that the executive of news and current affairs position should be designated an editorial post instead of a management position to better safeguard the organisation’s editorial independence. 

While Monare recognised that he consented to go through the vetting process upon his appointment in 2022, as required by his employment conditions, he said no mention was made of a polygraph test at that time.  

One month away from the country’s general election, he has now questioned the timing of the request. “I said to them, can you put it in writing, the rationale, the reasons, and who made the call,” he told SABC. His request for the rationale was declined.  

 “I’m the Editor-in-Chief, which means whatever we do in our newsroom, all the processes, what we do, is in the context of journalism, in the context of media freedom, and therefore I did not understand why State Security agents would want to conduct a polygraph test on me.”  

 Other senior executives including those at CEO level were not subjected to polygraph tests, he said.  

Press freedom organisations as well as local news outlets have condemned the SSA’s request as intimidatory and “undermining the fundamental principles of media and editorial independent and freedom of the press”.   

In a statement, the SABC said there had been no evidence “to suggest that it is being targeted by the Presidency,” and further added that “Moshoeshoe Monare as stated by the Presidency did not complete the process of vetting as stipulated in his contract. … He has not been asked to go through an unfair second round of vetting and security clearance. It is important to confirm that Mr. Monare consented to the vetting by the SSA when he signed his contract of employment which clearly spells out the requirements as a condition of employment.”  

“What they need to do is call off the SSA, and re-look at the strange policy that requires journalists to be subjected to scrutiny by the SSA, intrusive scrutiny, unnecessary scrutiny, and what looks because of the timing- suspiciously like pre-election harassment.” – Professor Anton Harber, Executive Director of the Campaign for Free Expression

Controversy ahead of general election 

The controversy unfolded shortly after a leaked recording of President Cyril Ramaphosa expressing dissatisfaction with media coverage of the ruling ANC, saying that local media had “no right to be negative” towards the governing party. He also said that the ANC’s election campaign messages should be prominently broadcasted on TV and radio.  

 With the general election taking place at the end of May, the sudden additional vetting of the public broadcaster’s editor-in-chief elicited scrutiny and questioned the political interference of the state in SABC’s editorial work.  

The situation caused quite a stir, not least because these coercion techniques have already been used by the SSA in the past. 

As Professor Anton Harber, executive director of the Campaign for Free Expression, said during an interview with the SABC, the SSA has tried several times to influence the appointment of key editorial staff at the SABC. According to Harber, the previous board of SABC did draw a line to limit the interference of the SSA. He called on authorities to call off the vetting request of the SSA, to protect the editorial independence of SABC.  

“What they need to do is call off the SSA, and re-look at the strange policy that requires journalists to be subjected to scrutiny by the SSA, intrusive scrutiny, unnecessary scrutiny, and what looks because of the timing- suspiciously like pre-election harassment.”