Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has slammed local media accusing them of supporting the enemies of the revolution.
At a media conference in Johannesburg just ahead of the 7 May elections, The Times took the brunt of Malema’s frustration. This after the media house published an article on Sunday about the EFF leader’s Louis Vuitton shoes.
“The Sunday Times sent journalists to follow us around everywhere but they never write our stories. Why? Because they are looking for negative stories,” says Malema.
Malema then lashed out against the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), claiming that the public broadcaster wrongly and illegally banned the party’s advert.
He said his party submitted its advert, which was supposed to be aired on April 20, but was not.
“The SABC wrongly and illegally banned this advert because of the EFF’s decisive position, shown in the advert, that in an instance when it takes government it will physically destroy the undemocratically imposed e-tolls. The SABC refuses to air this advert, arguing that it incites violence.”
The EFF has threatened legal action against the SABC and stated that they will roll out mass action in the form of a march to the public broadcaster on April 29. Malema adds that independently owned eNCA has joined the SABC in attempting to silence the EFF.
“They too [eNCA] no longer cover EFF events. This is because of their now clear popular agenda and which the EFF threatens their elite viewers and owners.”
#Malema: Sunday Times sends journalists to follow us around tolook for native stories. They haven't found anything and they report on shoes
— EconomicFreedom (@EconFreedomZA) April 22, 2014
Jumping on the bandwagon?
It feels a bit like de-ja-vu for South Africans after the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) “Ayisafani” TV advert was pulled off the air last week, along with five radio advertisements.
The SABC had banned the DA’s radio and television adverts but they were put back on air after an Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) hearing. On Tuesday the SA Police Service (SAPS) lodged a complaint against the DA’s election advertisement aired by the SABC and other news media.
Like the SABC, the SAPS claims that the television advert may incite violence.
#Malema: We expected eNCA to be the alternative. They only feel pain when SABC is suppressing the DA, like they don't to the same to us.
— EconomicFreedom (@EconFreedomZA) April 22, 2014
– By Nina Oosthuizen
