ID’S PATRICIA DE LILLE SLAMS MANNER IN WHICH SUNDAY TIMES JOURNALIST WAS ARRESTED
5 AUGUST 2010-ID President Patricia de Lille has slammed ‘the outrageous manner’ in which Sunday Times journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika was arrested yesterday.
ID President Patricia de Lille has slammed ‘the outrageous manner’ in
which Sunday Times journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika was arrested
yesterday.
He was reportedly arrested by a large number of policemen, “who became involved in a screaming match with senior editors about whether photographers could take pictures or not,” according to Times Live.
‘When seen within the context of the ANC’s proposal to set up a Media Appeals Tribunal in Parliament, designed to ensure the ruling party’s view is given preference over anybody else’s, this arrest is yet another worrying sign that the ANC is stepping up its onslaught on media freedom,’ Ms De Lille says.
‘We in the Independent Democrats condemn the intimidating manner in which Wa Afrika was arrested and the alarming allegation that he was held at an undisclosed location.
‘If his arrest was designed to punish him for his story on Police Commissioner Bheki Cele’s suspicions decisions, then God help our nation. It is certainly hard to think up any positive possibilities because even if Wa Afrika has indeed committed a crime of some sort, then the way in which he was arrested was still designed to send a message to the press,’ says De Lille.
For media enquiries, please call Steven Otter, the Spokesperson for Patricia de Lille, on 084 233 3811
He was reportedly arrested by a large number of policemen, “who became involved in a screaming match with senior editors about whether photographers could take pictures or not,” according to Times Live.
‘When seen within the context of the ANC’s proposal to set up a Media Appeals Tribunal in Parliament, designed to ensure the ruling party’s view is given preference over anybody else’s, this arrest is yet another worrying sign that the ANC is stepping up its onslaught on media freedom,’ Ms De Lille says.
‘We in the Independent Democrats condemn the intimidating manner in which Wa Afrika was arrested and the alarming allegation that he was held at an undisclosed location.
‘If his arrest was designed to punish him for his story on Police Commissioner Bheki Cele’s suspicions decisions, then God help our nation. It is certainly hard to think up any positive possibilities because even if Wa Afrika has indeed committed a crime of some sort, then the way in which he was arrested was still designed to send a message to the press,’ says De Lille.
For media enquiries, please call Steven Otter, the Spokesperson for Patricia de Lille, on 084 233 3811
