Apology to Ndebele and the ACTION Support Centre

ALEXANDRA - Alex News reported on the Africa Day Celebrations and Cultural Festival that took place on 23 May 2015 at the Alexandra Stadium, headlined “Africa Day Festival is boycotted” (week ending 29 May 2015). The day started off at 9am with a march from Pan Africa Mall to the Alexandra Stadium. The aim of the event was to make a stand against xenophobia, Afrophobia and criminal violence. The event was co-organised by the ACTION Support Centre, and was also aimed at promoting diversity and social cohesion. Co-hosts of the event included the City of Johannesburg, Gauteng Department of Community Safety, Department of Sports, Art and Culture, COSATU, the Somali Association of South Africa and the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa. Mr Philani Ndebele, who has lodged a complaint about the story with the Press Ombudsman, was one of the organisers, and also the MC. Alex News stated as fact, both in the story and in the headlines (both on the front-page and on an inside page), that the event had been “boycotted” – a statement which was fiercely contested by Ndebele. At a meeting held with the Ombudsman it became clear that Alex News should have attributed this statement to a source (if someone indeed has said it). The newspaper did not do so, thereby unfairly and unjustifiably presenting our assumption as fact. Alex News also did not contact Ndebele or the ACTION Support Centre for comment regarding the alleged boycott before publication, as prescribed by the Press Code. Alex News retracts the statement made about the event having been boycotted by community members, and apologises for the serious, unnecessary harm caused to Ndebele and the ACTION Support Centre as a result of the article.