(Joe Thloloe)
When
we take a moment or two at this time to observe the situation of the Editor of
the Star, Sifiso Mahlangu, it’s crucial to recall the enormous sacrifices and
contributions of journalists during the apartheid era in the struggles for a
free, non-racial and democratic South Africa.
I am not going to go back in history but deal
primarily with the period when the then National Party introduced all kinds of
laws to suppress, oppress, harass and intimidate journalists – especially
journalists of colour.
Being colonial and racially
driven – the media during this period was mainly concerned with maintaining and
retaining white domination of the social, economic and political fabric of
South Africa.
(Mateu Nonyane), (Zwelike Sisulu)
Nearly all newspapers were white owned, controlled, managed and edited – with the exception of one or two minor and insignificant publications – and the National Party monopolised the airwaves in the name of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
The apartheid regime,
especially under the leadership of John Vorster, Hendrik Verwoerd and P W
Botha, had in their arsenal more than 100 statutes that limited the freedom of
the Press. The repressive atmosphere really began after the Sharpeville
uprisings on March 21 1960 when police shot dead 69 peaceful marchers who were
protesting against the carrying of the hateful Dom-Pass.
(Don Mattera)
The National Party
Government introduced a state of emergency and banned the ANC and the PAC and
crushed all opposition to white minority rule. Publications such as the New
Age, Fighting Talk, Advance and Guardian were forced to close shop and the
journalists working in these and other progressive newspapers either had to
flee the country or go underground.
During this period of
repression, some of the only black-oriented newspapers that were allowed to
operate were the Drum magazine and the Golden City Post. Although they reported
on some political developments, they were, however, no danger to the existence
of the white state.
Being white-owned and managed, these newspapers concentrated on the sensational
– sex, crime and gangs and sport – in order to survive. There were some
journalists during this period in the 1980s who dared to question the white
status quo – but they too were quickly intimidated and forced to flee the
country or tone down.
(Rashid Seria) (Leslie Xinwa) (Philip Mthimkulu)
In the early 1970s – when
the black consciousness movement took root after the establishment of the South
African Students Organisation (SAS0) – a number of journalists came to the fore – prepared to
take on the white oppressors irrespective of the consequences. These
journalists were primarily working at that time for newspapers such as the
World and Weekend World, and socially-conscious journalists working for
mainstream newspapers such as the former Rand Daily Mail, the East London Daily
Dispatch, the Cape Times and Argus, the Johannesburg Star and the Durban Daily
News.
They tried to introduce a
new and dynamic approach to journalism by tackling the social, economic,
sporting and political oppression of the majority. The struggle for freedom of
the Press and the liberty of the people had just started in earnest once again.
But no sooner had journalists – with a black consciousness
background – begun to tackle real and fundamental issues affecting the
majority, the apartheid system struck back with a vengeance in 1974 when they banned
a Frelimo rally scheduled to be held at Durban’s Currie’s Fountain and
prohibited any newspaper coverage of the event.
(Philip Mthimkulu and Subry Govender attending the International Federation of Journalists conference in Nice, France in the November 1980)
As a matter of interest,
black consciousness leaders like the late Strini Moodley, Saths Cooper, Aubrey
Mokoape and others were charged under the infamous Terrorism Act and as a
result of the rally were charged and sentenced to Robben Island.
Further onslaughts against
the media began after the 1976 Soweto uprisings. Two months after the
uprisings, nine journalists, who played a leading role in reporting events in
Soweto, were detained under the regime’s Internal Security Act, and two others
were incarcerated under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act.
Among the very first to be
arrested was Joe Thloloe, who was at that time working for the World Newspaper;
Peter Magubane, South Africa’s world-famous photo-journalist who worked at that
time for the Rand Daily Mail and Miss Thenjiwe Mntintso, who worked at the
Daily Dispatch in East London at that time.
The majority of them were
held for about four months without being tried in a court of law. They were
released at the end of December 1976 but some were re-arrested in 1977. Joe
Thloloe was held incommunicado for 547 days under Section 6 of the Terrorism
Act.
The others were Willie
Bokala, a reporter for the banned World newspaper who was held in detention for
more than a year; Jan Tugwana, a reporter for the then Rand Daily Mail who was
also held in detention for more than a year under Section 6 of the Terrorism
Act; Ms Juby Mayet, a doyen of journalists who was held incommunicado under the
Internal Security Act at the Fort Prison in Johannesburg; Isaac Moroe, the
first president of the Writers Association of SA (WASA) in Bloemfontein; Bularo
Diphoto, a freelance journalist in the town of Kroonstad who was also detained
under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act; and Mateu Nonyane.
Another journalist, Mr
Moffat Zungu, who was a reporter for the World Newspaper, was an accused in the
Pan African Congress (PAC) trial that took place in Bethal, near Johannesburg.
He was first detained under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act.
The darkest day in the
history of Press Freedom took place on October 19 1977 when the notorious
apartheid Minister of Police, Jimmy Kruger, banned the only two newspapers
respected among people – the World and Weekend World.
Mr Kruger, who became
infamous for describing Steve Biko’s death two months earlier as – “It leaves
me cold” – at the same time banned the Union of Black Journalists (UBJ) and 17
other organisations; the publication of the UBJ – AZIZTHULA; religious and
student publications; locked up the editor and news editor of the World and
Weekend World – the late Percy Qoboza and the late Aggrey Klaaste respectively;
and banned for five years the Editor of the Daily Dispatch, the late Donald
Woods.
The regime also raided the
offices of the Press Trust of South Africa (PTSA) alternative news agency in
Durban and confiscated all its stationery and equipment and seized its funds.
Six other journalists were
also detained at this time – including Thenjiwe Mntintso, who became an ANC
functionary after 1994 and appointed as an ambassador; and Enoch Duma – who
worked for the Star newspaper at that time. He fled into exile after being
released after more than two years in detention.
Almost every member of the
UBJ was visited by the security police all over the country; their homes and
offices raided and searched and interrogated. All the raids were carried out at
the unearthly hours of 4am and 5am in the morning. I remember my mother knocking
on my door and saying in our Tamil mother tongue: “Some white people are here
asking for you.”
When representations were
made to Mr Kruger for the release of the detained journalists, he had the
temerity to announce that the detentions were not meant to intimidate the Press
and that his Government had good reasons to detain the journalists.
It was during this
traumatic period that another publication of the UBJ, UBJ Bulletin, and all
subsequent editions were banned. The UBJ Bulletin contained some revealing
articles about the activities of the South African Police during the Soweto
uprisings. Four UBJ officials – Juby Mayet, Joe Thloloe, Mike Nkadimeng
and Mike Norton – were charged for
producing an undesirable publication.
Inspite of world-wide
condemnation of the banning, detention and harassment of journalists, the state
security police continued with their jack-boot tactics.
In Durban two Daily News
journalists – Wiseman Khuzwayo and Quraish Patel – were detained without trial
for more than three months.
On November 30 1977, the
day white South Africa went to the polls to give John Vorster another mandate
to continue to oppress the majority, 29
journalists, including Zwelakhe Sisulu and Ms Juby Mayet, staged a march
in the centre of Johannesburg against the banning of the UBJ and the detention
of journalists. They were detained for the night at the notorious John Vorster
Police station and charged under the Riotous Assemblies Act and fined R50 each.
Some of our colleagues who found it impossible to continue to work in South Africa skipped the
country under trying circumstances. They included Duma Ndhlovu, Nat Serache, Boy Matthews Nonyang and Wiseman Khuzwayo.
(Struggle journalists attending a UBJ conference at the Wentworth Hotel in Durban in early 1977.)
Those who remained –
including Juby Mayet, Zwelakhe Sisulu, Philip Mthimkulu, Joe Thloloe, Charles
Nqakula, Rashid Seria, this correspondent and many others – vowed to continue
the struggle. We committed ourselves in the belief that there could be no Press
freedom in South Africa as long as the society in which we lived was not free.
But the regime was also determined to make life difficult for us.
In July 1977 when we
scheduled to hold a gathering of former UBJ members in Port Elizabeth to chart
our future course of action – the regime banned our gathering and prohibited us
from travelling to the PE. But being determined to take on the regime head-on
we quickly re-scheduled our meeting to be held in the town of Verulam, about
25km north of Durban.
Unknown to us the dreaded
Security Police tapped our telephone conversations and had the Starlite Hotel
in Verulam bugged. The Security Police were listening to the entire proceedings
of our meeting and immediately decided that we were a bunch of “media
terrorists” who should be taken out of society.
At our meeting we decided
to establish our own daily and weekly newspapers and a news agency because we
were of the firm belief that the establishment media was not catering for
the majority. The establishment media of
that era, as you have already been informed, was aimed at protecting and
promoting the privileges of the minority.
But, sadly we did not have
the resources to embark on such ambitious projects. Nevertheless, many of us
who became frustrated with the establishment media began to make arrangements
for the establishment of regional newspapers that would provide an alternative
voice to the mainstream media and the National Party-controlled SABC.
But resistance led to more
repression. In June 1980 when school children all over the country boycotted
classes against the unequal and inferior education system for children of the
majority, the security police once again targeted journalists. They detained
many of us for lengthy periods, claiming that the journalists had been
encouraging the children to boycott classes.
Zwelakhe Sisulu was during
that period of repression detained for nearly two years.
In Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, East London and other
centres – black journalists continued to work with the community in an attempt
to establish alternative newspapers.
(An article published in an official struggle publication, KWASA, about the bannings of fellow journalists in December 1980 and January 1981.)
In Durban, the Press Trust
of South Africa Third World News Agency was established as one of the first
moves to provide the outside world with accurate information about the
situation in South Africa. The news agency was established to operate alongside
the running of the alternative newspaper, Ukusa.
But just when the newspaper
was set to start publishing with the blessing of the community, the state
struck again and banned its Managing Editor – this correspondent; and also
Zwelakhe Sisulu, Joe Thloloe, Philip Mthimkulu, Mathatha Tsedu and Charles
Nqakula in December 1980.
This was a massive blow for
the alternative media because all the journalists were fully involved in the
various projects.
Some of the publications
that they were involved in were UKUSA in Durban, Grassroots in Cape Town, Speak
in Johannesburg and Umthonyama in Port Elizabeth. The South African Council of
Churches also sponsored the publication of a newspaper called The Voice. Philip
Mthimkulu and Juby Mayet worked for this newspaper before they were banned.
The journalists in question
were put out of circulation for three years until the end of 1983 when their
banning orders expired. But during their period of forced exile, the
journalists did not remain idle – for instance the Press Trust of South Africa
News Agency continued to operate under some trying conditions, intimidation and
harassment.
During this period Charles Nqakula
skipped the country to join the ANC. Upon his return he served the new
government in various positions, including Minister of Defence.
When our banning orders
expired, most of us continued where we had left off. In Johannesburg, Zwelakhe
Sisulu initiated the establishment of the New Nation newspaper with the
assistance of the South African Catholic Bishops Conference; in Cape Town,
Rashid Seria initiated the establishment of the South Newspaper; and in other
parts of the country many other progressive forces and journalists began to
establish alternative publications.
The apartheid regime began
another round of repression and during the respective states of emergency,
media repression reached a peak. It was a time when the discredited tri-cameral
system was in place and the United Democratic Front had captured the
imagination of oppressed South Africans.
Most of us – who were in
the forefront of the alternative media – were under constant surveillance. For
instance during the emergency regulations in 1986 and 1987 – the dreaded
security police at that time raided all the alternative newspapers and
intimidated the journalists.
The New Nation and the Weekly Mail – two alternative newspapers in Johannesburg
– were banned several times from 1986 to 1990.
When peace negotiations
began, there was some respite for journalists and the media.
The stand-point taken by
Sifiso Mahlangu, Editor of State, is a reminder once again to journalists of
today that they must recapture the struggles of the journalists of the era
prior to 1994 and commit themselves to promoting media freedom in our new,
non-racial and democratic order.
The new era journalists
must be on guard all the time. They must remember that a country without a free
media is not free at all and this must be communicated to the current people in
political power.
Our first democratic
president, Nelson Mandela, repeatedly told us how much he appreciated the work
that struggle journalists had done for their freedom and how it was important
that media practitioners continued to keep a check on the new politicians. He
made it clear that the new politicians are answerable to the citizenry and not
the other way round.
What Mandela was saying was
that journalists must keep a check on politicians who try to harass, intimidate
and use violence in order to curb the freedom of the Press in our new
non-racial, democratic and free South Africa. Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com Nov 9 2022
