‘They stole it from us! Sneaky eNCA! Wicked, tricksy, false!’ – EFF furious

The EFF and its leader, Julius Malema, are not happy with broadcaster eNCA, after the channel allegedly “stole” an interview with Malema during the fracas at the Pan African Parliament (PAP) in Midrand.

The party has been at odds with eNCA for a while, boycotting the channel and its journalists since last year. It now claims eNCA journalist Khaya James “tricked” Julius into granting him an interview by using unbranded microphones and equipment.

Scenes at the fifth sitting of the PAP have been chaotic the past few days, with Malema featuring prominently in a number of the altercations with delegates. The “stolen” interview took place during an intermission following yet another round of ructions on Tuesday.

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Chaotic scenes played out once again at the Pan African Parliament. This as leadership elections were due to get underway this afternoon. eNCA’s @KhayaJames is following today’s proceedings and spoke to EFF leader @Julius_S_Malema. #PanAfricanParliament pic.twitter.com/w3JIWUlqfY

— eNCA (@eNCA) June 1, 2021

In a statement released later on Tuesday, the EFF raged against eNCA’s unbranded equipment, calling it “disgusting and desperate”, and “unethical”.

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The statement reads: “The actions of the eNCA journalist were not only unethical, but disgusting for the fact their employer deliberately used a microphone with no branding, meaning they knew the interview was being done deceitfully. They did not indicate what media house they were from, in order to secure an interview. It is pathetic and desperate.”

Give us back our interview

The EFF says the channel’s conduct is not only “abusive”, but also racist and has demanded it stop using footage of the interview on its platforms.

“It is not only pathetic, but reveals an alarming desperation by eNCA to associate themselves with an organszation that has requested them to refrain from attempting to interview its membership and leadership.”

The EFF also accused eNCA of being manipulative, claiming it “sends female journalists to impose themselves on us in the picket lines and now to secure interviews with us by hiding their very identity”.

The red berets have had their share of run-ins with eNCA, including an incident during which some of its members were accused of harassing a female journalist live on air during a protest last year.

The party responded to this by saying merely touching a woman was not harassment, before eventually backtracking and apologising.

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eNCA has not yet responded to the EFF’s demands and the interview remains available on its online platforms. The EFF has warned that failure to remove it “will have consequences!”.