JOHANNESBURG,July 27 (ANA) – Faced with a number of court challenges, the beleaguered SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has relented and announced that the seven of the eight senior journalists it fired recently can return to work.
"The SABC management has instructed its legal team not to proceed with further legal action and the SABC and the SABC will reinstate the seven dismissed news employees. The SABC remains committed to fulfilling its public service mandate," the broadcaster’s spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said in a statement.
The SABC also withdrew its decision to appeal Tuesday’s Labour Court ruling setting aside the dismissal of four of the journalists.
The four – Radio Sonder Grense (RSG) executive producer Foeta Krige, Afrikaans news producer Suna Venter, journalist Jacques Steenkamp and SAFM current affairs producer Krivani Pillay – were barred from accessing their workplace when they reported for duty on Wednesday.
In a scathing judgement delivered by Judge Andre van Niekerk, the court said the termination of their employment last week was unlawful, and awarded costs against the SABC.
Several other senior SABC journalists, including Thandeka Gcubule, Busisiwe Ntuli and Lukhanyo Calata, were sent termination letters by the public broadcaster on Monday.
Vuyo Mvoko’s contract was not renewed by the SABC because he publicly criticised the broadcaster’s ban on the broadcasting of violent protests. Mvoko has approached the high court to ask it to set aside the termination of his contract. Mvoko is not a permanent employee at the broadcaster. His matter was set to be heard on Thursday.
In court papers served on the SABC, Mvoko argues that the public broadcaster violated the independent contract agreement he had with them.
Meanwhile, the Broadcasting, Electronic, Media and Allied Workers’ Union (Bemawu) had also approached the Labour Court on behalf of Ntuli, Calata and Gcubule. The union wanted their dismissals deemed illegal and set aside. Their matter was scheduled to be heard on Thursday in Johannesburg’s Labour Court.
All eight journalists earlier this month approached the Constitutional Court for direct access to argue to have the ban on airing footage of violence reversed.
Last week, the SABC made a U-turn and said it would reverse its decision not to show violent protest footage in a case brought before the North Gauteng High Court by the Helen Suzman Foundation.
The public broadcaster negotiated and reached a settlement with the HSF in court.
The SABC also agreed to implement the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa ruling ordering it to reverse its unilateral ban on the broadcast of footage of violent protests.
– African News Agency (ANA)
