The SABC appears to have blatantly contradicted itself, and possibly opened itself up to charges of perjury, writes Jocelyn Newmarch in The Weekender.
At a Weekender debate held at Wits University on Wednesday , SABC board member Bheki Khumalo said someone had been reprimanded for his role in blacklisting political commentators in 2007.
Questioned about the scandal, he said: “You can’t ban commentators. That is wrong. The individual who did that was called up by the CEO and reprimanded.â€ÂÂ
But earlier on Wednesday, the SABC had denied that commentators had been blacklisted, and it disputed the findings of the Sisulu Commission into the affair  which had found evidence of commentators being banned .
It also said Snuki Zikalala, head of news and current affairs at the SABC, demonstrated his editorial independence.
The denials are contained in a supplementary affidavit filed in support of the SABC by its complaints officer Fakir Hassen, and in heads of argument presented by legal counsel Ishmael Semenya SC to the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa).
A complaint was laid by the Freedom of Expression Institute with Icasa’s complaints and compliance committee when the SABC apparently failed to act on the commission’s findings. In November, the committee ruled that the institute should submit supplementary evidence in support of its complaint.
Click here to read the full report, posted on The Weekender's website.
