Journos strike back at BLF

The South African National Editors’ Forum and two of the country’s top journalists want Black First Land First (BLF) founder Andile Mngxitama sentenced to suspended imprisonment and a hefty fine for being in contempt of an interdict not to harass and intimidate journalists.

The forum, amaBhungane managing partner Sam Sole and Ferial Haffajee, editor-at-large at Huffington Post SA, will next week seek an urgent interdict in the High Court in Pretoria to declare BLF in contempt of a July 7 interdict forbidding it and its members from intimidating, harassing, assaulting, threatening or coming near the homes of Sole, Haffajee and a group of the country’s journalists.

The journalists were targeted for reporting on the so-called #GuptaLeaks pertaining to e-mails which allegedly expose the Gupta family, members of South Africa’s political elite, President Jacob Zuma and his son Duduzane as being involved in various acts of corruption.

The applicants want the court not only to extend the interdict to all other journalists, but to find BLF and Mngxitama guilty of contempt of court and to give Mngxitama a three-month prison sentence, suspended indefinitely.

The applicants also want the court to order Mngxitama to pay a R100 000 fine.

Sole said in an affidavit Mngxitama and BLF have wilfully violated the terms of the court order and continued to harass, intimidate and attack any journalists they perceived as being opposed to what they stood for.

“It is clear that the respondents have little regard for the rule of law and consider themselves free to act indiscriminately and threateningly towards any journalist that they disagree with.

“The continued breach is targeted at silencing journalists who report on and expose issues pertaining to those at the highest echelons of society. Each act of harassment, intimidation and assault is part and parcel of an orchestrated campaign.”