Bloggers take on Malema, Shivambu

Johannesburg - A group of about 100 bloggers has started a campaign calling for the ruling ANC party and its affiliated youth league to distance themselves from the actions of youth league president Julius Malema and spokesperson Floyd Shivambu, who are threatening journalists.

The group is acting under the brand "SpeakZA - Bloggers for Press Freedom", coordinated by Sipho Hlongwane, a blogger for the Mail & Guardian's Thought Leader website.

The campaign kicked off on Wednesday, with all the bloggers running an article on their websites calling for the organisations to take action.

"Last week, shocking revelations concerning the activities of the ANC Youth League spokesperson Nyiko Floyd Shivambu came to the fore. According to a letter published in various news outlets, a complaint was laid by 19 political journalists with the secretary general of the ANC against Shivambu.

"This complaint letter detailed attempts by Shivambu to leak a dossier to certain journalists, purporting to expose the money-laundering practices of Dumisani Lubisi, a journalist at the City Press. The letter also described the intimidation that followed when these journalists refused to publish these revelations," said the post, written by Hlongwane.

"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the reprisals against journalists by Shivambu. His actions constitute a blatant attack on media freedom and a grave infringement on constitutional rights. It is a disturbing step towards dictatorial rule in South Africa," it said.

"We urge the ANC as a whole to reaffirm its commitment to media freedom and other constitutional rights we enjoy as a country," it urged.

According to Hlongwane, "Shivambu and Malema clearly have no respect for the media and the rights afforded to the media by the constitution of South Africa".

The ANC and ANCYL are yet to respond to the campaign.

- Fin24.com