Sanef dirty tricks campaign exposed
A PLOT by senior SA National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) officials and former Press Council members working with a minister and two former ministers to try to execute a hostile takeover of Independent Media, has been unearthed by Independent Media’s investigations unit.
Sources in Sanef say there is an atmosphere of desperation among several of its officials, senior former journalists and members of the Thuma Mina media group as a result of perceived loss of support in the ANC for President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Sources said the grouping was astounded by the strength of the anti-Ramaphosa camp in the ANC and feared that, should a special conference be held, he could be recalled as had happened to former ANC presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.
Recent editorial changes at Independent Media have been viewed as problematic in some quarters as the editors exposed the CR17 campaign funding and the PPE corruption, while media sympathetic to Ramaphosa ignored it for almost two weeks.
There are individuals working to influence the State Capture Commission’s narrative against Independent Media by deliberately singling out the African News Agency (ANA) as a recipient of State Security Agency (SSA) funding.
In what was unusual, evidence leader Advocate Paul Pretorius had nudged Dr Sydney Mufamadi to disclose ANA’s name, and even claimed that clearance had been given for this.
Many who had an agreement with the SSA, including journalists from other media companies, did not have their names disclosed because the Commission would first have to seek their permission. No such permission was sought from ANA.
Journalists in the Thuma Mina group – especially from Daily Maverick and News24 – within the space of a week published nine articles in a synchronised manner on ANA and the SSA.
Sanef then released a pre-planned statement falsely claiming ANA was part of Independent Media and condemning Independent Media and its journalists. Independent Media was not asked to comment. Its editors responded forcefully.
However, Sanef did not leave it there. According to the sources there was deep division within Sanef when its executive wrote to the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), ostensibly to protect journalism and urging the PIC to intervene in Independent Media.
Independent Media’s executive chairman and editors separately wrote a scathing response condemning the interference as Sanef had no locus standi in this matter. The Independent Media investigation unit can reveal that a current minister and two former ministers did not involve just the PIC, but are also working with two banks as a last-ditch effort to shut down the accounts of the Sekunjalo Group, a shareholder of Independent Media, a move expected to render Independent Media unable to trade or operate.
The plan was to use the ANA-SSA matter as a pretext for the banks to shut down Sekunjalo’s accounts on the back of reputational exposure.
Sanef spokesperson Hopewell Hadebe denied their letter to the PIC was to lobby the asset manager to execute a hostile takeover.
“We just want Independent Media to return to the Press Council structure. We hope that the PIC will consider our plea to convince Sekunjalo as the major shareholder to return the media house to the Press Council structure in order to give it some form of protection from other formations,” he said.
Hadebe denied claims that Sanef’s move was influenced or motivated by any political structures.
“We are hoping that the PIC will hear us out and if not we will go back to the drawing board,” he said.
Over the next few weeks, Independent Media will expose more of a dirty tricks campaign which includes former Press Council members.