Saturday, April 26, 2014

BREAKING. eNCA after its reporter is harassed by South African Police: 'Outrageous bullying tactics unacceptable' in South Africa.

Photo: Beeld

The eNCA (DStv 403) 24-hour TV news channel tells TV with Thinus it is "outrageous" that the South African police harassed one of its TV reporters and forcibly removed images off of his cellphone and that eNCA find these "bullying tactics" of journalists in South Africa unacceptable.

Ben Said, group news editor of eNCA tells me that eNCA will be taking up the matter with the South African Police as well as the ANC political party.

Yesterday a member of the South African Police's VIP unit, dressed in plain clothes, forcibly removed images from the cellphone of eNCA reporter Nickolaus Bauer.

Nickolaus Bauer was at an ANC election rally in Duduza.

The incident occured after Nickolaus Bauer took photos of an Ekurhuleni government vehicle transporting and handing out ANC T-shirts to ANC supporters at one of the political party's election rallies.

This is a transgression and abuse of state resources to use a government vehicle for a specific political party's electioneering.

"We think it is outrageous and it is just another example of these sort of incidents where the police are willing to abuse their power; intimidating and harassing journalists," says Ben Said.

"It goes against SANEF's code of conduct signed with the South African Police," says Ben Said.

"These bullying tactics by the South African Police are unacceptable in a democratic South Africa".

"We are going to be taking the matter up with the head of the South African Police's VIP unit and I've also asked the ANC to look into the matter," says Ben Said.


ALSO READ: eNCA reporter Nickolaus Bauer harassed by ANC; reporter has cellphone forcibly taken and images deleted.