Human beings are bound to fall into the trap of making foolish statements once in a while, however, do not stoop to the foolish level exhibited by our not-so honourable Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Kebby Maphatsoe, who suffers from foot in mouth disease.
The man is well known for his verbal diarrhoea, and this was no different when he came out guns blazing in defence of the less-learned man of Limpopo, chief executive officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng, who is at the helm of the public broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
Motsoeneng is taking us all back to the dark days of apartheid, where the SABC was an imbongi (praise singer) for the apartheid state, its leaders, its brutal and suppressive state machinery, its murderous armed forces in the police force and the defence force, including the too numerous to mention underground forces that were controlled by the notorious security branch.
Motsoeneng has effectively gagged the SABC and its journalists from not just broadcasting information about service delivery protests that have become a South African way of life, but has also muzzled the voice of the opposition on a broadcaster that is known as a public entity. It goes without saying that not all South Africans are supporters of the ANC, neither are they all DA or EFF supporters – opposition parties need to be heard as they can be a voice of reason too.
However, Motsoeneng believes in keeping a tight leash on what we should and should not hear in our news bulletins. Back in the dark days of apartheid, he would have been lucky to escape a lynch mob baying for his blood, as he would have been considered an impimpi (sellout).
We now live among the sellouts of our hard-won democracy and freedom of the press because it now suits those in power. If our people knew that this would happen, they would not have sacrificed their lives for the same apartheid rubbish in reverse – as it is at the SABC now.
We fought the muzzling of the press under apartheid and we are going to fight it under the ANC, make no mistake Kebby. Don’t disguise the silencing of journalists at the SABC as responsible reporting.
The term, responsible reporting, is a subjective statement. If singing the praises of the ANC and Jacob Zuma, regardless of the blunders and his assertions that the ANC will rule until Jesus comes, is responsible reporting, then what made the apartheid regime’s muzzling of the press irresponsible reporting?
What you don’t realise, Kebby, is that you are justifying the injustices of the past, and the apartheid ghosts will turn around and claim that they were also promoting responsible reporting by denying us news of the Soweto Uprising and other incidents that we could only hear of through the foreign media.
Do you want to take us back to the days when we shall hear of incidents on our doorsteps such as the Vuwani riots, the Marikana massacres and the voice of the opposition from the BBC and other foreign media?
Kebby, I repeat, the SABC is supposed to be a mirror of the nation, in good or bad times, in riots or peace.
And please don’t be reckless next time with this potent weapon and end up shooting yourself in the foot.
