Sanef condemns attack on SABC journalists covering EFF shutdown ...
EFF supporters marching in Sandton during Monday's national shutdown.
The SA National Editors' Forum (Sanef) condemned attacks on SABC journalists earlier this week.
The journalists were attacked while covering the EFF's national shutdown in Nyanga, Cape Town.
On Monday, the attackers hit their car with an object on the N2, near Borcherds Quarry.
A crew member was hospitalised after he was hit on the head with an object.
Sanef emphasised the role of journalists in a functioning democracy and also the highlighted the call by UN Secretary-General António Guterres for political leaders to "stand up for truth, justice, and human rights".
It said:
We are troubled by increasing incidents of violence against journalists around the country, including in Cape Town townships, where some journalists were previously robbed. We wish to remind all South Africans about the importance of free media, which is vital to a functioning democracy - exposing wrongdoing and corruption and bringing the powerful to account.
Last week, Sanef condemned the harassment and intimidation of journalists covering stories in the Eastern Cape. This was after a senior journalist at the Daily Dispatch received an anonymous warning to "watch his back" for hired hitmen.
Sanef said the threats could be linked to his investigation into the murder of University of Fort Hare Vice-Chancellor Sakhela Buhlungu's bodyguard, Mboneli Vesele.
Sanef's chairperson, Sbu Ngalwa, said the journalist was removed from the story after receiving the threat.
This was the second recent incident in the Eastern Cape.
News24 previously reported that a journalist at the Zululand Observer, Gaddafi Zulu, was slapped and punched, allegedly by the former mayor of Mtubatuba, Mandla Zungu, and his bodyguards earlier this month.
