Busisiwe Ntuli and Lukhanyo Calata were dismissed this morning, while termination letters were handed to Krivani Pillay, Voeta Krige, Suna Venter and Jacques Steenkamp last night.
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In another application in the North Gauteng High Court, the Helen Suzman Foundation have cited the SABC, its board, it controversial chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng, and Communications Minister Faith Muthambi as respondents in its legal bid to stop the broadcaster from following through on its decision to censor the reporting of protests.
Vuyo Mvoko, who is on contract at the SABC and was suspended after writing an article in The Star titled My Hell at the SABC, had not been informed yet if his contract had been cancelled.
A lawyer for the SABC eight Aslam Moosajee is applying for direct access to the Constitutional Court.
According to a statement released by Solidarity, the dismissal letters state that it is common knowledge that the journalists do not respect the SABC’s management and that they would continue to undermine the broadcaster’s authority and its management.
SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago told The Citizen on Sunday that Monday’s deadline was “for us to tell them whether we are going to comply or not and we have already said we are going to review the matter”. “It can be likened to a kangaroo court that executes an accused while an appeal process is still pending”.
Media Monitoring Africa has confirmed six journalists in total have now been dismissed.
Solidarity and the SABC will meet in the Labour Court in Johannesburg on 21 July when the union will approach the court on an urgent basis to set aside the decision to dismiss the journalists, and also request that the disciplinary process is revoked in its entirety.
On July 5, Mthembu held a press briefing at ANC headquarters at Luthuli House, where he said that the SABC was in contravention of the Constitution, as well as ANC policy.
The broadcaster said the journalists’ behaviour was untenable. Others were suspended after they publicly spoke out against the “censorship” of news championed by Motsoeneng at the SABC.
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Another SABC presenter and producer at radio station RSG, Ivor Price, announced on his Twitter page on Tuesday that he had resigned from the public broadcaster.
