IEC apologises to media fraternity

Johannesburg – The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has apologised to a journalist who was detained at a voting station in Soweto yesterday.

Newzroom Afrika Ziniko Mhlaba was released by Gauteng Police Commissioner Elias Mawela, shortly after the arrest.

This is after South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) executive director Reggy Moalusi contacted the police and the Provincial Electoral Office in Gauteng to negotiate the release of the journalist.

In a press conference at the National Results Center this afternoon, at the Showgrounds in Pretoria, IEC Dr. Masuku apologised to the journalist and the rest of the fraternity.

“We apologise to [one] the reporter that has suffered in the hands of the people that are in voting stations, we would like to also apologise to the fraternity of the journalists,” Masuku said.

Masuku further expanded her apology with rhetorical questions to explain that the incident was not foreseen.

“Does that mean people did not receive training? No. People behave in the most bizarre way, when they are under pressure, it is not an excuse,” she explained.

Prior to that, the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) condemned the arrest.

SANEF released a statement stating that they have worked with the IEC on the training of journalists about all matters regarding the elections including powers of presiding officers and the rights of journalists in the field when covering elections.

“This was proactively done to ensure cooperation and the smooth running of elections.

“SANEF is concerned that despite all the pre-election engagements and preparations, something like this still happened and the police reacted with a heavy hand instead of facilitating an amicable solution,” the statement read.

SANEF chairperson Sbu Ngalwa and a colleague of Ziniko said: “I’m glad that our colleague Ziniko has been released. His arrest was totally unnecessary and sheer abuse of power by the police. No journalist should be arrested/harassed for merely doing their job. Journalism is not a crime!”