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SANEF Mourns the Untimely Death of Two Journalists

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The South African National Editors’ Forum mourns the untimely deaths of the Daily Sun photographer and former Phala-Phala FM presenter. Daily Sun freelance photographer, Muntu Sam Nkosi, passed away at his home on Saturday 10 July as well as Media personality, radio presenter, and script writer Martha Makhela, (58) died on July 5th, 2021, at her home in Polokwane, Limpopo.

Muntu Nkosi

Nkosi (58) died from Covid-related complications shortly after he had shared the news of his Covid-19 status in a spirited tweet two weeks ago in his home in Tsakane, Ekurhuleni.

His colleagues described him as a jovial and passionate storyteller about township life and was well versed in covering human interest stories around Ekurhuleni. He worked the streets, informal settlements, and townships with much aplomb with our various reporters.

Daily Sun’s editor in-chief, Mapula Nkosi, said the newsroom will be poorer without Nkosi who worked for the paper for 14 years since 2002 and continued to work as a freelancer.

“Muntu was one of the most humble and soft-spoken colleagues in the newsroom. His eyes would always light up and he would start engaging jovially when he had to go out in the field to tell stories. We are still in shock about his passing. We would like to extend our deepest condolences to his family.”

Stephens Molobi, who worked very closely with Muntu, said: “I was lost for words when I heard of his passing. We were a super tag team in Ekurhuleni.  He was full of life and always made work seem easy with his strong contacts.”

Ntebatse Masipa, another reporter who worked closely with Muntu, said she will miss debating story angles with him. “I loved working with him.”

Martha Makhela

Makhela began her career as a receptionist in Venda, became a teacher at School of Tomorrow in Shayandima and then became an award-winning presenter at the SABC’s Phala-Phala FM (then Radio Venda) in 1994 where she worked for 15 years.

Her friends described her as a trailblazer in the industry, inspiring others to thrive in their lives. She was responsible for the creation of several award-winning shows such as Nne na Vhone, Ndevhe Tsini and Learners Support. She left the station in 2010 to empower and unearth talent at various community radio stations in the district.

She was considered a mother to many and a beloved member of the community. She is survived by four children and three grandchildren.

SANEF expresses its heartfelt condolences to both the Nkosi and Makhela families. May their dear souls rest in eternal peace.

Note to Editors: The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists and journalism trainers from all areas of the South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism through fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.

For more information please contact:

  • Sbu Ngalwa – SANEF Chairperson (073) 404-1415
  • Adriaan Basson – SANEF Deputy Chairperson (082) 562-2113
  • Mahlatse Mahlase – Secretary General (083) 399-2852
  • Nwabisa Makunga – Treasurer (082) 555-1972
  • Mary Papayya – SANEF Media Freedom Chair (082) 379-4957
  • Asanda Ngoasheng – Western Cape Convenor – 082 610 9374
  • Judy Sandison – SANEF KZN Convenor (082) 571-3334
  • Katy Katopodis – SANEF Gauteng Convenor (082) 805-7022
  • Chiara Carter – SANEF Eastern Cape Convenor (082) 659-9162
  • Reggy Moalusi – SANEF Executive Director – (071) 682-3695

Socials

Twitter: @SAEditorsForum

Email: [email protected]

Website: SANEF

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National Call on Freelance Journalists and Media Houses to Register Staff for Vaccination

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The process to vaccinate journalists progressing well.

The South African National Editors’ Forum wishes to thank all media houses big and small around the country for registering for the vaccination of their staff through the survey.

Click on this Weblink for the survey:

We achieved over 90% of registration in just four days. As we take the next and last step of the process, we hope to achieve the same level of success with the next step of uploading and submitting names and details of staff that will be vaccinated in the next few days. We wish to challenge the media houses and individual freelancers to speedily complete the attached forms and submit them without delay by Wednesday 14th July 2021, we could get the media vaccinated without delay the very next week after.

The media sector from the mainstream, to community, online/digital, broadcasting, to print as well as freelancers below 35 years will be considered. All media organisations and freelancers must complete the attached form and email it to the GCIS which has been assigned the responsibility to collate all forms on behalf of the Health Department.

To download the form Click here

Please email the completed form to Cindy Ngozo at: [email protected]

We, therefore, appeal to the media fraternity to speed up the process of uploading staff/employees’ details. This will enable the department to process the media and then move onto the next sector of essential services.

Media houses must complete the forms and provide the list(s) of staff according to regions or municipalities (cities, towns) where their staff offices are based. For example, if the head office in Johannesburg has 200 staff members, they should be at the top of the list, followed by 50 people based in Durban as the next region etc or send separate lists according to cities or towns where they operate.

We are all aware of the announcement today by acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi during a weekly briefing that registrations for the next phase of the country’s Covid-19 vaccine drive, aimed at people aged between 35 and 49, will open on 15 July. The vaccination of this cohort will begin on 1 August.

We still encourage journalists above 35 – 60 years of age to register here and get vaccinated: https://vaccine.enroll.health.gov.za/#/

Socials

Twitter: @SAEditorsForum

Email: [email protected]

Website: SANEF

 

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SANEF Condemns Attacks on Journalists During #FreeJacobZuma Unrest and Looting in Gauteng.

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The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) would like to strongly condemn the attacks on journalists covering the deadly, violent unrest and looting in Gauteng, led by those demanding the freeing of imprisoned former president, Jacob Zuma.

Television crews of the SABC were robbed in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, while a camera and vehicle belonging to Newzroom Afrika was badly damaged in Hillbrow, near the city’s CBD. The two attacks leave a bitter taste in the mouths of journalists and editors, who assigned teams to cover the violent protests across Gauteng this morning.

It’s utterly disgusting that a threatening protester would tell a reporter “he will die today,” as was said to a News24 journalist. Yet again, we will always call on the organisers of such protests to call for calm, and to respect and accord the media space to do its work. Journalists must be allowed to report and encouraged to report all news incidents, without being intimidated or threatened, while remaining vigilant.

Contrary to a disinformation campaign across various social media platforms, journalists have been covering these protests since they emanated in KwaZulu-Natal, following the jailing of Zuma at the Estcourt Prison on Wednesday night. The coverage has been well documented by all platforms, such as online, television, radio and print. The intimidation and bullying of journalists and cyber bullying of journalists is also experienced in KZN.

As an organisation, we will always speak out strongly against misinformation and disinformation, mostly used to paint our media houses in a negative light when it comes to news selection. Our media houses are sending out their journalists out daily, at the risk of violent attacks and contracting Covid-19, as they recognise the media’s role in our constitutional democracy.

While everyone is entitled to their views, we call on those perpetuating the inaccurate narrative that the media is ignoring the protests to desist, switch on their TV news, read reputational online and print news platforms, to see how wide the protests have been covered.

NB: SANEF has seen a letter by eNCA journalists complaining about censorship in their newsroom. We have contacted the news management at eNCA to request a meeting. While we await a response, news media should always strive to reflect the multiplicity of views within codes set out by the BCCSA and the Press Code.

Note to Editors: The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists and journalism trainers from all areas of the South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism through fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.

For more information please contact:

  • Sbu Ngalwa – SANEF Chairperson (073) 404-1415
  • Adriaan Basson – SANEF Deputy Chairperson (082) 562-2113
  • Mahlatse Mahlase – Secretary General (083) 399-2852
  • Nwabisa Makunga – Treasurer (082) 555-1972
  • Mary Papayya – SANEF Media Freedom Chair (082) 379-4957
  • Asanda Ngoasheng – Western Cape Convenor – 082 610 9374
  • Judy Sandison – SANEF KZN Convenor (082) 571-3334
  • Katy Katopodis – SANEF Gauteng Convenor (082) 805-7022
  • Chiara Carter – SANEF Eastern Cape Convenor (082) 659-9162
  • Reggy Moalusi – SANEF Executive Director – (071) 682-3695

Socials

Twitter: @SAEditorsForum

Email: [email protected]

Website: SANEF

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SANEF Launches Local Elections Training and Reporting Portal for Journalists

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The South African National Editors’ Forum will assist journalists with online training and reporting resources in the run-up to the local elections, scheduled for 27 October this year.

The SANEF 2021 municipal elections portal, now available on https://elections.sanef.org.za/, provides newsrooms with information that they can use in planning their election coverage, training manuals, a local government data dashboard and other reporting tools.

The portal builds on the online resources for the national and provincial elections in 2019, when SANEF and partners provided election training to hundreds of journalists around the country, backed up by an online election handbook and election updates.

The expanded 2021 portal features newsroom manuals and training materials for a series of local government and election coverage webinars to be held from end July on topics which will include how municipal elections work, the role of the media during elections, electoral disinformation, the safety of journalists on- and offline and municipal finances.

Throughout its 25 years of existence, training of journalists has been one of SANEF’s key priorities, especially during election times and often in collaboration with the IEC and journalism training institutions. This ongoing capacity building and investment in democracy and governance reporting skills and resources are also part of SANEF’s efforts to ensure that journalists provide the public with fair, balanced and accurate information to rely on when they prepare for voting day.

A new addition to the election portal is a data dashboard which provides journalists with detailed information on municipal demographics and finances, to assist them when they do stories on municipal performance and service delivery in the run-up to the elections.

Additional electoral datasets will be added to the dashboard when released by the IEC and will include information on registration levels for each municipality as well as the parties and candidates contesting ward and proportional representation seats.

The portal also provides newsrooms with information on a range of election initiatives and reporting resources, from projects to counter disinformation to service delivery levels in municipalities.

On the safety of journalists during the election period, the portal contains a quick guide for journalists on the best ways to report online and other harassment directly to the police, the SA Human Rights Commission or the IEC.  Journalists will also be able to submit requests to SANEF for support with complaints.

Note to Editors: The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists and journalism trainers from all areas of the South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism through fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.

For more information please contact:

  • Sbu Ngalwa – SANEF Chairperson (073) 404-1415
  • Adriaan Basson – SANEF Deputy Chairperson (082) 562-2113
  • Mahlatse Mahlase – Secretary General (083) 399-2852
  • Nwabisa Makunga – Treasurer (082) 555-1972
  • Mary Papayya – SANEF Media Freedom Chair (082) 379-4957
  • Asanda Ngoasheng – Western Cape Convenor – 082 610-9374
  • Judy Sandison – SANEF KZN Convenor (082) 571-3334
  • Katy Katopodis – SANEF Gauteng Convenor (082) 805-7022
  • Chiara Carter – SANEF Eastern Cape Convenor (082) 659-9162
  • Reggy Moalusi – SANEF Executive Director (071) 682-3695

 

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SANEF Condemns the Detention, Assault and Torture of Journalists in Eswatini

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The South African National Editors’ Forum calls on President Cyril Ramaphosa and his regional counterparts to urgently demand that the government of Eswatini adhere to SADC media Freedom protocols.

SANEF is extremely concerned that on Sunday 4 July 2021, two New Frame journalists, Magnificent Mndebele and Cebelihle Mbuyisa, who were on assignment in Eswatini were detained, assaulted, and tortured by security forces. Mndebele and Mbuyisa were in Eswatini to report on the pro-democracy protests with a specific focus on the alleged state murders of citizens. While in the country, they were stopped at roadblocks on several occasions, threatened and forced to delete material from their phones and camera.

SANEF condemns the detention, assault and torture of Mndebele and Mbuyisa in the strongest terms and calls for international solidarity with all journalists and activists facing repression in Eswatini, and for the immediate restoration of democratic freedoms in that country, including the right to a free press.

For decades, Eswatini’s security forces have been notorious for their brutality against journalists, trade unionists, students and other pro-democracy activists. The attempts to silence journalists and activists are aimed, among other things, at trying to prevent the scale of the suffering of the people of Eswatini from being conveyed to people outside the country. We have also noted the blackout of the internet, which we equally condemn as a stringent measure meant to silence the voices of the citizenry, and inconvenience all.

SANEF is concerned about the safety of journalists and media workers which continues to be a huge challenge with increasing reports of attacks such as arbitrary arrest and detention, jailing, physical assault, which are used as weapons to silence critical journalism covering unrests in Eswatini.

We believe that SADC governments should show a stronger political will to protect journalists and independent journalism to put a stop to the deterioration of media freedom in the region.

Media freedom is an essential pillar of our democracies in the region which is too often taken for granted. Respect for freedom of the media in Eswatini has disappeared overnight due to the lack of the government conscience to defend human rights. In the last years, we have witnessed an increase in the number of cases of violence and intimidation against journalists.

We wish to remind the government of Eswatini of its commitment to media-friendly policies based on the August 1995 SADC declaration on Information and Communication. It undertook to remove systems and procedures that restrict the free movement of journalists, the exchange of news and information and the circulation of media products within the countries and across national boundaries of the countries of the SADC Community. It also recognises accreditation documents issued by any SADC Member State to media personnel to cover events and news in the other Member States, of the Community.

Key South African news organisations including the public broadcaster (SABC), as well as Newzroom Afrika have had to pull their journalists out of the country due to the ongoing attacks and intimidation on their journalists.

We, therefore, call on SADC leaders to embrace the principles of free access to information. We point the leaders to the letter we co-signed with key media partners including the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), calling for media freedom to be upheld and journalists to be protected.

Note to Editors: The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists and journalism trainers from all areas of the South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism through fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.

For more information please contact:

  • Sbu Ngalwa – SANEF Chairperson (073) 404-1415
  • Adriaan Basson – SANEF Deputy Chairperson (082) 562-2113
  • Mahlatse Mahlase – Secretary General (083) 399-2852
  • Nwabisa Makunga – Treasurer (082) 555-1972
  • Mary Papayya – SANEF Media Freedom Chair (082) 379-4957
  • Asanda Ngoasheng – Western Cape Convenor – 082 610-9374
  • Judy Sandison – SANEF KZN Convenor (082) 571-3334
  • Katy Katopodis – SANEF Gauteng Convenor (082) 805-7022
  • Chiara Carter – SANEF Eastern Cape Convenor (082) 659-9162
  • Reggy Moalusi – SANEF Executive Director (071) 682-3695

Socials

Twitter: @SAEditorsForum

Email: [email protected]

Website: SANEF

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Invitation: SANEF AND SADAG Present Mental Health Matters Workshop

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The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) in partnership with the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) are striving to prioritise journalism wellness in all newsrooms across the country this year.

We are excited to announce that the Webinars are kicking off and one will be held on July 10th with all SANEF members and all affected journalists. The virtual training is to be held on Saturday, 10 July, from 9am to 12pm.

Please see the attached invitation for more details.  We invite and encourage all journalists to attend. Please click here to register: https://bit.ly/3y76oKe

We will cover key topics including grief, trauma, burnout, compassion fatigue, managing anxiety, coping with workplace stress, depression, etc.

July is Mental Health Awareness Month and there is no better time than now to roll out this project to all newsrooms. SANEF AND SADAG encourages all editors and journalists across the country to make use of these services and to participate in the webinars.

For more information please contact:

  • Mahlatse Mahlase – SANEF Chairperson, (083) 399-2852
  • Katy Katopodis – SANEF Deputy Chairperson, (082) 805-7022
  • Moipone Malefane – SANEF Secretary-General (082) 772-5861
  • Mary Papayya – SANEF Media Freedom Chair (082) 379-4957
  • Sbu Ngalwa – SANEF Eastern Cape Convenor (073) 404-1415
  • Janet Heard – SANEF Western Cape Convenor (078) 041-9528
  • Hopewell Radebe – SANEF Gauteng Regional Convenor (083) 582-1734
  • Judy Sandison – SANEF KZN Convenor (082) 571-3334
  • Kate Skinner – SANEF Executive Director – (082) 926-6404

 

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‘New Frame’ Journalists Detained, Assaulted and Tortured by Security Forces in Eswatini

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On Sunday 4 July 2021, two New Frame journalists, Magnificent Mndebele and Cebelihle Mbuyisa, who were on assignment in eSwatini were detained, assaulted and tortured by security forces.

Mndebele and Mbuyisa were in eSwatini to report on the pro-democracy protests with a specific focus on the state murder of citizens. While in the country, they were stopped at roadblocks on a number of occasions, threatened and forced to delete material from their phones and camera.

On Thursday 1 July, Mbuyisa received a WhatsApp message, explicitly presented as a warning, from a person known to be close to the royal family, who said that he should “not make any movements”.

Shortly after 9am on Sunday, the two were stopped by soldiers on the MR3 highway near the town of Matsapha while returning from the funeral of Vincent Bhembe in Ngculwini. Bhembe was allegedly shot by security forces on 30 June and died in hospital the following day. New Frame’s journalists were threatened at gunpoint, their cameras were seized and they were forced to delete important footage and photographs from the funeral, including interviews with people who had been shot and injured.

Mndebele and Mbuyisa were then taken to the nearby Sigodvweni Police Station, where they were interrogated and assaulted with punches and kicks. Plastic bags were placed over their heads to suffocate them. This act, sometimes described as “tubing”, is globally recognised as a form of torture. In South Africa, it was widely used by apartheid security forces and continues to be used against grassroots activists in police stations today.

When news of the arrests was received, New Frame’s Johannesburg-based lawyers, Cheadle Thompson & Haysom Inc – a law firm with a long history of working with trade unions and other progressive organisations and actors – briefed a lawyer based in eSwatini to locate their whereabouts and secure their urgent release. Following a swift and effective intervention from the lawyer, the two young men were released at around 3pm.

Following their release, Mndebele and Mbuyisa were taken to hospital. They were warned that it would be too dangerous to head for the border that night as police, soldiers and correctional officers were positioned at multiple roadblocks along the main highways. They spent the night in Mbabane, where they were given refuge and cared for by an ordinary citizen who works as a cleaner.

During this entire ordeal and also before they were detained, it was very difficult to keep in touch with the two journalists as internet communication in the country had been severed.

Mndebele and Mbuyisa were able to cross the border at 3:30pm this afternoon and are now safe. They have risked their personal safety to report on how the people of eSwatini are risking their lives to fight an oppressive state – and the price that has been paid for that resistance. Mndebele and Mbuyisa acted with courage and integrity and in the best traditions of journalism.

This is not an isolated incident. For decades, eSwatini’s security forces have been notorious for their brutality against journalists, trade unionists, students and other pro-democracy activists. The attempts to silence journalists and activists are aimed, among other things, at trying to prevent the scale of the suffering of the people of eSwatini being conveyed to people outside the country.

New Frame condemns the detention, assault and torture of Mndebele and Mbuyisa in the strongest terms and calls for international solidarity with all journalists and activists facing repression in eSwatini, and for the immediate restoration of democratic freedoms in that country, including the right to a free press.

For more information please contact: Monica Laganparsad, associate editor: (0825786111)

Socials

Twitter: @SAEditorsForum

Email: [email protected]

Website: SANEF

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SANEF Outraged by Attacks on Journalists at Nkandla

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Image: Mawande Amashabalala/Sowetanlive

The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is deeply worried and equally outraged by the brazen physical and verbal abuse of journalists by supporters of former President Jacob Zuma outside his (Zuma’s) Nkandla home, northern KwaZulu-Natal.

SABC journalist Samkele Maseko was physically manhandled by one supporter today, following yesterday’s anger-fuelled interruption of a live broadcast by Maseko. SANEF chairperson, Sbu Ngalwa, on Sunday witnessed the violent attack and had to step in to rescue Maseko.

“I pulled him out as he was being attacked, strangled and slapped by one of the supporters.” Maseko appears to be one of the key journalists being targeted by the Zuma supporters. Video footage from the previous day shows a supporter pushing him away and asking him to leave Nkandla.

Since Friday, journalists have come under severe attacks while waiting for law enforcement agencies to execute a Constitutional Court ruling. Zuma was given until today (Sunday) to hand himself to the police and begin serving his 15-month sentence. The Court ruling found him guilty of contempt of court. Thousands of supporters and former ANC leaders have flocked to Nkandla to support Zuma.

Apart from supporters swearing and hurling verbal taunts at journalists, Edward Zuma, (Zuma’s eldest son) also threatened to burn one of the media vehicles parked outside his father’s house. We remind all supporters and the Zuma family and other former ANC leaders who also pitched up to support the former President that journalists have a right to cover the events. They were not trespassing, nor did they breach any privacy or court regulations.

Phathiswa Magopeni, SABC’s group executive of news and current affairs, said: “We are extremely concerned about the ongoing bullying, intimidation and harassment of our journalists. Such conduct erodes media freedom, undermines the public’s right to know, and has no place in our democracy. We urge the public to allow journalists a safe space to practice their craft without hindrance and use designated complaints agencies to raise any concerns of unfair coverage.”

SANEF is also concerned that these kinds of attacks are a direct breach of the South African constitution that protects media freedom and access to information and by extension the right for journalists to do their work. The impunity in which the Zuma supporters have acted says a lot about the climate that has been enabled for such attacks to happen without consequence. We urge Zuma, and senior leaders supporting him, to curtail and condemn such attacks by calling on his family and supporters to cease and desist from such actions.

We also wish to express our concern over the deafening silence from the country’s national and provincial assemblies, including law enforcement in the region. Such silence inadvertently condones the continuation of bullying and intimidation of journalists.

The United Nations plan of action on the safety of journalists warned that every attack on a journalist distorts reality by creating a climate of fear and self-censorship, and every journalist neutralised by terror. South Africa is a signatory to this specific UN declaration.

We note that Zuma’s supporters were not wearing masks and therefore call on journalists to be cautious of all Covid-19 regulations bearing in mind the deadly new Delta strain.

SANEF believes that the curtailment of the rights of journalists to work deprives society of their journalistic contribution and results in a wider impact on press freedom where a climate of intimidation and violence leads to self-censorship. In such a climate, the public and our democracy suffer.

Note to Editors: The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists and journalism trainers from all areas of the South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism through fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.

For more information please contact:

  • Sbu Ngalwa – SANEF Chairperson (073) 404-1415
  • Adriaan Basson – SANEF Deputy Chairperson (082) 562-2113
  • Mahlatse Mahlase – Secretary General (083) 399-2852
  • Nwabisa Makunga – Treasurer (082) 555-1972
  • Mary Papayya – SANEF Media Freedom Chair (082) 379-4957
  • Asanda Ngoasheng – Western Cape Convenor – 082 610-9374
  • Judy Sandison – SANEF KZN Convenor (082) 571-3334
  • Katy Katopodis – SANEF Gauteng Convenor (082) 805-7022
  • Chiara Carter – SANEF Eastern Cape Convenor (082) 659-9162
  • Reggy Moalusi – SANEF Executive Director (071) 682-3695

Socials

Twitter: @SAEditorsForum

Email: [email protected]

Website: SANEF

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SANEF Bids Farewell to Another Veteran Journalist

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The South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) is deeply saddened by the death of KZN veteran Editor Clement Ntombela (75). Our sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.

Ntombela fondly remembered as “Clem” to most of his family and friends, died yesterday morning at his home in Westville Durban, after health-related complications. He had just returned home after a brief stay in hospital and was surrounded by his family when he passed on. He is survived by his wife Joyce, his two sons, a grand-child, two sisters and a brother.

He was an Editor at various print and broadcast outlets in KZN, including Regional Editor at the SABC KZN, Editor of the Daily News, Ilanga newspaper and Drum Magazine.

Family spokesperson Lorraine Gumede said he was loved by so many and will be dearly missed. “He was a larger-than life family man and a loyal friend. He was loving to his wife and children and the extended family. A person of great heart who was willing to go the extra mile to help anyone who needed help. He loved his work in media, but he also cared deeply about his community and helped where he could.” His funeral is scheduled for next Thursday, 8 July.

SANEF KZN Regional Convener Judy Sandison described Ntombela as a “thoroughly nice guy”. “Clem was a great writer and worked with me as part of the new regional news structure when we were transforming radio news in KZN in the early 90’s. He was a pioneer as the first Zulu-speaking editor in the province. In the early 90s he was a news leader who always played a role of unity. He gave equal coverage and respect to all the warring factions in the province – the ANC, IFP and UDM at the time”.

SANEF Media Freedom Chair Mary Papayya described Ntombela as a colleague who was always calm and collected. “He was a kind person, unassuming and an incredibly tolerant newsroom leader. We both found common ground when we had to tackle issues of transformation in the newsroom, especially in current affairs and the news narrative. We shared a lot in common having worked in print and broadcasting and together with other like mind editors tackled issues of race, transformation, and a changing media landscape in the late 80s and early 90s on various platforms.”

Former SABC Regional Editor & News Editor Nhlakanipho Zulu described Ntombela as someone who worked with “reputable editors who were not only editors but activists to dismantle apartheid”. “He shared the stage with the likes of Prof Phil Mthimkhulu, Obed Kunene, Subry Govender and many others of his generation. During the violence in KZN of the 1980s and 1990s in KZN he guided our newsroom with distinctive leadership.”

Note to Editors: The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists and journalism trainers from all areas of the South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism through fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.

For more information please contact:

  • Sbu Ngalwa – SANEF Chairperson (073) 404-1415
  • Adriaan Basson – SANEF Deputy Chairperson (082) 562-2113
  • Mahlatse Mahlase – Secretary General (083) 399-2852
  • Nwabisa Makunga – Treasurer (082) 555-1972
  • Mary Papayya – SANEF Media Freedom Chair (082) 379-4957
  • Asanda Ngoasheng – Western Cape Convenor – 082 610-9374
  • Judy Sandison – SANEF KZN Convenor (082) 571-3334
  • Katy Katopodis – SANEF Gauteng Convenor (082) 805-7022
  • Chiara Carter – SANEF Eastern Cape Convenor (082) 659-9162
  • Reggy Moalusi – SANEF Executive Director (071) 682-3695

Socials

Twitter: @SAEditorsForum

Email: [email protected]

Website: SANEF

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