White journalists banned from Zuma debate in South Africa

By Tererai Karimakwenda
22 February, 2008

It has been reported that white journalists were banned from covering a debate hosted by the Forum for Black Journalists in South Africa on Friday, at which ANC President Jacob Zuma was guest speaker.
White reporters who went to cover the event were told that only black, coloured and Indian journalists would be allowed to stay.

Katy Katopodis, editor for South Africa’s Talk Radio 702, said their senior reporter Stephen Grootes, who has been covering Zuma for years, was asked to leave after he had been there for 30 minutes. Grootes was told the affair was for black journalists only. Katopodis said two other white journalists were also banned and told to leave.

Katopodis said she was shocked at this action by the Forum for Black Journalists. She said: “At this time in South Africa no-one should be excluded from anything because of their race. We have been there before. We do not want to go there again.”

The outraged news editor said she had already written a formal complaint to the Human Rights Commission of South Africa asking them to deal with the incident as they see fit.

It is understood that Jacob Zuma had not yet arrived at the time that the white reporters were told to leave. His press officers said that the ANC President had been asked to address the Forum and had nothing to do with organising the event.

This raised the question as to whether Zuma was aware of the racist element and decided to address the Forum anyway, or whether he did not know about the exclusion of whites. Katopodis said anyone that would go ahead and attend such a function knowingly, would be condoning racism.

Next door in Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe and other ruling party officials have openly made racist remarks against whites in the country. State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa once referred to the remaining white farmers as “trash” that must be removed. Katopodis would not be drawn into making any comparisons. She said: “I don’t want to say that South Africa is going the Zimbabwe route. The point is we need to put a stop to this before we start excluding anyone based simply on their race.”

Black journalists from Talk Radio 702 objected to the exclusion of their white colleagues and released a statement that said in part: “There is no problem with the existence of the Forum for Black Journalists, we understand that certain issues affecting black journalists might need to be debated in such a forum. We understand how people may feel free to bring up certain issues in such a forum. However, the major issue for us is that certain people are being granted access to Mr Jacob Zuma, based on their race. It is wrong to say that only black journalists may meet with Mr Zuma in this kind of forum.”