By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Lobby group AfriForum, describes the SABC’s decision to ban “Kill the Boer” radio advert as “gross censorship that makes a mockery of the public broadcaster’s claims .
In the ad, the lobby group says its case against the chant will be heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on 4 September.
AfriForum is appealing an Equality Court ruling which declared the chant not to be hate speech.
The group’s CEO Kallie Kriel believes the ban to be “gross censorship that ridicules the public broadcaster’s claims that the SABC is impartial and against divisive statements”.
“The SABC has now positioned themselves firmly behind Julius Malema, the EFF and this party’s divisive use of the ‘Kill the Boer’ phrase by trying to silence those, like AfriForum, who are promoting mutual respect by opposing polarisation,” says Kriel.
“It is shocking that the SABC, given the broadcaster’s financial disposition, is willing to reject an income from an AfriForum advertisement just to serve their own ideological biases.
“The SABC’s partiality, as shown by banning AfriForum’s advertisement, is exactly one of the reasons why so many people stopped paying their TV licenses.”
The SABC argued that a sub judice rule prohibits them from broadcasting an advert at this point because the case has not been heard in the SCA yet.
But according to Kriel, it is standard practice to refer to court cases before they take place.
“Another excuse that the SABC argues is that the EFF should have the right of reply to give their side of the case regarding the advertisement.
“The SABC is underestimating the intelligence of its listeners and viewers if they think that the public will fall for an excuse that there should be a right of reply to a paid advertisement.