Sanef calls on Gender Commission to probe Ndlozi’s ‘harassment’ comments

The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) is calling on the Gender Commission and parliament to investigate after the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi claimed the mere “touching” of an eNCA reporter by party members was “not harassment”.

During the incident, the reporter and cameraman were chased away from covering an EFF Clicks protest in Goodwood Mall in Cape Town on Tuesday.

In a statement on Thursday, Sanef said it was appalled by the misogynistic statement made by Ndlozi, which condoned the harassment of the reporter.

“Ndlozi owes eNCA journalist Nobesuthu Hejana and the women of South Africa an apology. Sanef is also calling on the Gender Commission and parliament to investigate the matter.”

But they are telling her that she can be here, but not allowed to talk to EFF members. It means she was trying to interview them

I really do not see harassment here. Merely Touching her is not harassment. The touch has to be violent, invasive, or harmful to become harassment! https://t.co/dzkglCGVcM

— Mbuyiseni Ndlozi (@MbuyiseniNdlozi) September 9, 2020

Sanef argued that the EFF members were clearly seen aggressively shoving and pushing the reporter during a live crossing.

“While it is unacceptable for anyone to be touching another person without their consent, in a country like ours, with alarming cases of gender-based violence, it is horrifying that a member of parliament finds it okay for a group of men to be harassing a woman.

“It is equally horrific that Ndlozi thinks it is okay to tell women what constitutes harassment.

“It is ironic that the incident happened during a protest by EFF, fighting for the dignity of black women and they themselves harassed a black woman.”

ALSO READ: EFF challenged to direct their energy toward GBV fight

The organisation further called on “all male and female political leaders to urge their supporters to respect women journalists and allow them to do their work in safety, free from intimidation and harassment”.

“Sanef has been highlighting the plight of women journalists over the years, as they are often vulnerable at protests, rallies and other political events of various parties.

“Women journalists have reported being groped, sexually harassed and have reported lude comments being made to them.

“Political reporters, in particular, have also decried newsmakers commenting about the size of their bums and breasts, hitting on them and telling them what they should wear when coming for an interview.”

Many South Africans, including actor Bonnie Mdluli and politician Phumzile Van Damme, called out Ndlozi for his statement.

See the tweets below:

The irony…so i ask if women get “merely touched” in the EFF, men come out in droves to attack me and defend the EFF, what are you defending if there’s nothing wrong with how they treated that journalist ! Mcim!!!

— Bonnie Mbuli (@BonnieMbuli) September 9, 2020

Kahle kahle, @MbuyiseniNdlozi, which is it? Are your morals that flexible? Do you have any or not? This is what you get when you defend nonsense (Thanks for sharing this @clivesimpkins) https://t.co/rNO5TmjJDJ

— Phumzile Van Damme (@zilevandamme) September 9, 2020

“Merely touching her is not harassment” they say… kana how many women are violated daily in this country?

— Matshidiso Madia (@tshidi_lee) September 9, 2020

“Merely touching her”. Remember this next time the EFF pretends to care about gender-based violence. https://t.co/WcZUHHBADE

— Tom Eaton (@TomEatonSA) September 9, 2020

Julius Malema publicly stated that Jacob Zuma’s rape accuser “had a nice time” and “enjoyed herself” with him.
The EFF reserves its most vicious on and offline conduct for females who dare to criticize it.
This comment is not a surprise. https://t.co/TFBYGwazre

— Karyn Maughan (@karynmaughan) September 9, 2020

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