Manhandled journo reacts

THE SA National Editors Forum yesterday said it would follow up and ensure action was taken against a police officer who manhandled a Times Media journali confiscated her phone and wiped it of all its contents.

The journalist‚ Katharine Child‚ was covering President Jacob Zuma’s attendance at a religious event arranged by the Gupta family on Thursday evening.

Sanef’s media freedom sub-committee chairman Sam Mkokeli encouraged the reporter to open a case‚ saying the forum was shocked that the officer displayed “shocking behaviour”.

“It is in line with an unfortunate trend which we have been seeing‚” said Mkokeli‚ adding that the police “failed to follow their own rules and regulations”.

The Times editor Andrew Trench said: “The treatment of our journalist is despicable bullying and is contrary to the police’s own Standing Order 156 which prevents the police from stopping a journalist taking pictures or any visual recording.

Child said security guards had allowed her into the premises of the Military Museum in Saxonwold but she was turned away at the venue’s entrance.

A man in plainclothes‚ who said he was a policeman and told her his name was Morne‚ told her to leave when she identified herself as a journalist. She queried this and he then grabbed her phone.

The man had then phoned someone and said that she had taken photographs of the event on her phone.

“I did not take any pictures because it was dark. But he deleted everything from my phone – all my apps‚ all my photos‚ all my phone numbers.” — TMG