Sunday World freelance journalist Thomo Nkgadima was arrested for taking pictures outside the home of Fetakgomo Tubatse mayor Eddie Maila.
Nkgadima is spending Christmas in police holding cells after he was arrested on Sunday. This after Maila laid charges of trespassing and intimidation at the Tubatse police station.
Nkgadima was covering a story on illegal electricity connections in an informal settlement which is not connected to Eskom’s electricity grid, and where the mayor has erected a double-storey house.
Nkgadima was probing the mayor’s alleged silence in dealing with illegal electricity connections that are happening in his neighbourhood.
He also wanted to find out why the area is not formally connected to the Eskom electricity grid.
Trespassing and intimidation
While Nkgadima was doing his work, he was charged with trespassing and intimidation. Maila alleged that Nkgadima gained access to his property by climbing over the wall.
However, Nkgadima disputed the allegation, saying he took the pictures of the mayor’s house from outside the property.
“They say I entered the property. It is a lie. I never went inside the yard. I took the pictures of the house from the street,” said Nkgadima.
The pictures that Nkgadima has shared show that they were taken from outside Maila’s property. The pictures also dispute Maila’s version that Nkgadima accessed his property.
Maila also laid the criminal charges without first having complained about Nkgadima’s conduct to Sunday World.
He made a barrage of accusations against the journalist, including invasion of privacy and extortion.
Sunday World acting editor Ngwako Malatji urged the SA National Editors Forum (Sanef) to take a stand against the abuse of power by the mayor and for Maila’s principals to take action.
Sanef is a a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists and journalism trainers from all areas of the media in South Africa.
Limpopo police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Malesela Ledwaba was not immediately available for comment at the time of publishing.
When contacted for comment, Maila said the law must take its course.
This article has been updated. In the first version, we had condemned Maila’s actions, calling them an abuse of power and apartheid government-style intimidation. The condemnation is retracted. We had also used the picture of the mayor’s house. We have replaced it with Thomo Nkgadima’s picture. We stand by the rest of the story.
- Additional reporting by Julia Madibogo
