The South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) has condemned the recent spate of incidents in which journalists in the country were subjected to police visits and death threats. In one of the incidents, journalist Marianne Thamm has been asked, by the Hawks and the South African Police Services (Saps) in KwaZulu-Natal, to reveal the sources of her recent article in the Daily Maverick.
In another incident, a police officer had wanted to see journalist Aidan Lee Jones at the Daily Maverick offices in Johannesburg. Durban businessman Roy Moodley had laid charges against GroundUp as Jones wrote an article for GroundUp exposing alleged corruption involving Moodley about the Passenger Rail Association of South Africa (Prasa). The article was republished in The Citizen and Daily Maverick.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has also stated that "death threats" have been directed at its journalists who are covering various issues across the country, including instances of alleged corruption as well as "political and corporate bullying" directed at its news service staff.
