On September 22, a freelance journalist for GroundUp was detained for two hours in the community of Zithobeni, Bronkhorstspruit, South Africa. The journalist had arrived in the area to report on water challenges experienced by households. Residents had been facing discolored tap water for two weeks without any explanation from the municipality. The journalist began interviewing residents and taking photographs of the discolored water.
As the journalist was leaving a resident's home, he was approached by an angry man who demanded to know his identity and purpose in the area. The man insisted that the journalist needed permission from the ward councillor and municipal office to enter Zithobeni. The journalist explained that he was a regular freelance journalist for GroundUp and was working on a story about residents' concerns about their drinking water. However, the man became aggressive, shouting about women being killed and children being kidnapped in the area.
The situation escalated, with the man demanding to see the journalist's press card and searching his bag. He took out the journalist's camera and ordered him to delete all the pictures, including those of the discolored water. A crowd of about ten people gathered, and the man threatened to call other residents to come and beat the journalist. The journalist began to fear for his life and politely defended himself by explaining his identity and purpose.
Two community members started verifying the journalist's recently published articles, and a few women who had been interviewed earlier tried to defend him. One woman stepped forward, stating that she believed the journalist was a reporter from GroundUp and wanted him to publish his story about the water challenges. Despite this, the aggressive man insisted that the journalist did not have permission to be in the area and phoned the Bronkhorstspruit police station to verify him.
The police officer from the Bronkhorstspruit SAPS contacted the GroundUp newsroom and spoke to the journalist's colleague, Masego Mafata. Mafata phoned the journalist and confirmed that community members were preventing him from leaving the area and had called the police. The journalist even gave the phone to one of the aggressive men to speak to Mafata. Her attempts to reason with him were futile, but eventually, the police were called, and the community decided to let the journalist leave.
A man escorted the journalist to the taxi rank and threatened him, saying he was not to work in the area again or to publish what he had already gathered. The journalist went to the police station and tried to make a statement, but the officer said it was pointless opening a case. The journalist then phoned ward councillor Fidel Phiri, who said he was not aware of the incident and confirmed that the journalist did not need his permission to work in Zithobeni.
Phiri apologized for the men's behavior but accused the journalist of "exaggerating the so-called detention." The journalist believes that this incident was a blatant attack on press freedom. The journalist has visited dangerous areas before without carrying a press card, but this was the first time he experienced such an ordeal. Nothing will deter him from doing his work, he said.
Key points
- A freelance journalist was detained for two hours in Bronkhorstspruit, South Africa, while reporting on water challenges faced by the local community.
- The journalist was confronted by an aggressive man who demanded to see his press card and permission from the ward councillor and municipal office to enter the area.
- The incident is believed to be a blatant attack on press freedom, but the journalist remains committed to his work.
