special assignment sabc

Thursday, July 11, 2024

SABC’s ’Special Assignment’ gagged from airing untruthful, incorrect allegations

Published Oct 20, 2021

THE SABC’s flagship investigative television programme, Special Assignment , has been gagged by the South Gauteng High Court from broadcasting a show containing false accusations against several companies.

Judge Sharise Weiner this week provided reasons for granting the application by FirstAssist, FirstHelp, Bluespec Holdings and FirstGroup to interdict the broadcasting, airing and publishing of the episode on September 14 just about half an hour before it was about to be shown on television.

The judge granted the interdict after the director of another company, Precision Towing, admitted in court to providing untrue information to one of the public broadcaster’s investigative journalists attached to the programme.

Precision Towing director Alpheus Ntshebeleng Ngoako told the court in an affidavit about the problems that had existed between FirstAssist, FirstHelp, Bluespec Holdings and FirstGroup and Precision Towing relating to certain service level agreements and certain acts of violence and intimidation that took place between these entities.

The four companies accused Precision Towing, its directors and employees had an ulterior motive to provide untrue information to the SABC and had previously obtained an interdict against one of Precision Towing’s employees, identified in court as Mr Olckers.

In her judgment ex tempore (on the spur of the moment, without premeditation) delivered on Monday, Judge Weiner said Ngoako told the court that negotiations between the parties had not succeeded and in an attempt to bring pressure to bear on FirstAssist, FirstHelp, Bluespec Holdings and FirstGroup he decided to approach an investigative journalist and presented what appeared to be a “David-and-Goliath” story in which Precision Towing had been and was at the mercy of the four companies.

”He (Ngoako) set out the details of these disputes and what he states is as follows: ’In essence, I repeated and tried to breathe light into the incorrect and untruthful allegations that Mr Olckers has previously told to me and subsequently told to the court’,” reads the judgment.

Ngoako further explained to the court: “I did not intend these allegations to be published by the journalist as I believed that enquiries by her of FirstAssist's representatives would immediately bring them to the negotiating table.”

He also stated that he regretted his actions in approaching and misleading the journalist about the four companies’ alleged anti-competitive behaviour.

The SABC informed the companies that it intended to air the programme, telling them that they could reply in a later episode.

”What appears from the papers and from the affidavit of Ngoako is that, on a prima facie basis, what the SABC intends to air is based on untruthful and incorrect allegations which have now been withdrawn by the main antagonist in this matter,” Judge Weiner said.

She also found that for this reason she did not believe that the programme should go ahead without further investigation and that FirstAssist, FirstHelp, Bluespec Holdings and FirstGroup were entitled to the order they sought.

”There is no irreparable prejudice to the SABC if the order is granted, and the balance of convenience favours the granting of the relief,” Judge Weiner explained.

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Thursday, 11 July

20 Dec 2021

Special Assignment's Busisiwe Ntuli says there was never an intention to air interdicted episode

• Phathiswa Magopeni's disciplinary hearing has heard that the  SABC was willing to comply with a court order that barred it from broadcasting a Special Assignment episode.
• The show was aired because of an error in programme codes, the hearing heard.
• Advocate Nazir Cassim is chairing the disciplinary hearing.

The SABC was willing to comply with a court order that it should not air an interdicted programme, Special Assignment executive producer Busisiwe Ntuli testified on Monday during the disciplinary hearing of the broadcaster's head of news Phathiswa Magopeni.

Ntuli told advocate Nazir Cassim, who is chairing the hearing, that they found out an hour before the programme was due to air that it had been interdicted.

Magopeni has been charged with a failure to execute her duties, putting the SABC into disrepute and airing a show that was interdicted.

Ntuli testified that the programme was cancelled but was aired a few weeks later by mistake.

"We wanted to respect the law. We knew that we could not air the programme," Ntuli said.

She said while they respected the court's decision, she wanted to continue fighting it.

"We were being muzzled by corporate bullies and we should not allow them to do so. We needed to find a way in which the interdict should be challenged."

On the night the interdicted episode was played, she checked their records and discovered that the programme codes for the interdicted show and the replacement were similar.

"I determined this is why the other programme was picked up."

ALSO READ |  SABC head of news tries to have disciplinary hearing collapsed, then withdraws application

Ntuli said the change in the programme codes was done by a technician.

She said the programme was not removed from the system because they didn't think a mistake would happen.

"None of us knew this mistake would happen. We did not anticipate that a mistake would happen."

Asked whether there was an intention to air the programme, Ntuli said: "Never."

Asked whether the airing of the show was the news department's fault, she said: "Not as far as I have determined."

Ntuli added that her unit provided the correct information to the video entertainment department.

"They needed to verify that the content we provided them with corresponds with the programme that was to air on that day. They have an obligation to ensure that whatever is shown to the South African public is checked and verified."

Explaining what she learnt from the ordeal, Ntuli said: "I believe there is a systematic issue, chairperson. The people who allocate codes should not allocate the same ones."

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About the Show

Special Assignment is a South African current affairs investigative series created by Max du Preez, Jacques Pauw and Anneliese Burgess that aims to uncover the truth about news events and the people involved in them. Since it's premiere in 1998 the show has gained the reputation of delivering unbiased, edgy journalism, breaking stories that have had an impact, not only on the immediate situation, but on South African society as a whole. In the pursuit of journalistic truth the show has also made use of innovative TV techniques which include journalists taking on different roles to get information out of the guilty, using hidden cameras to capture responses and liasing with informers on the inside of a rotten situation. Using television as a form of social activism the show has won numerous awards for the impact it has had. Broadcast Notes The series premiered on SABC3 on Tuesday 28 July 1998, at 21h30. It later moved to Thursdays, at 21h30. On Sunday, 6 October 2013 it moved from its Thursday time slot to Sundays, at 21h30. It moved to Wednesdays at 21h30 from 6 July, 2016.

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On Special Assignment: Dismantling Verwoerd's Apartheid (2 November 2016)

02 Nov 2016 | Written by: TVSA Team | From: Special Assignment Special Assignment asks: how we do undo the brutal psychological and socio-economic damage inflicted by Verwoerd's regime?

Special Assignment exposé: Is your doctor a real doctor?

15 Jan 2015 | Written by: TVSA Team | From: Special Assignment Doctors selling their practice numbers for cash. Fake doctors treating patients. On Sunday (18th) Special Assignment airs an exposé of undercover footage.

SABC3's new 19h30 schedule (November 2014)

30 Oct 2014 | Written by: TVSA Team | From: SABC3 SABC3's schedule goes through big changes next week as a result of the Afrikaans news returning to SABC2. See what's changing.

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Special Assignment focuses on drug trafficking, speaks to Nontando Pendu

• Special Assignment is focusing on drug trafficking this week.
• Image Credits :
• SABC-News-Drug-Trafficking-REUTERS
• Lerato Matlala
• 29 June 2019, 17:03 [SAST]

After more than a decade in a Thailand Prison for drug trafficking, South African Nontando Pendu has returned home. But the question is: was she a perpetrator of drug smuggling or a victim of human trafficking?

SABC Special Assignment Producer Hazel Friedman reports on an exclusive story.

Since 2009, Special Assignment has been investigating the transnational narcotics trade. The programme has also broadcast the stories of South Africans incarcerated abroad for drug trafficking and the agony of their loved ones who are emotionally incarcerated alongside them.

Special Assignment believes that in some cases they should be classified, not as perpetrators of drug smuggling, but rather victims of human trafficking.

In 2008, 24-year-old Nontando Pendu flew to Bangkok for what she thought would be a lucrative job. But the dream job turned into a nightmare.

She was allegedly forced to smuggle drugs, was caught and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

“Victims of human trafficking are not confined to sex slavery. They are now being forced to traffic drugs without their knowledge in the recruitment process,” says Human Rights Lawyer Sabelo Sibanda.

The syndicate members who recruited her have yet to be arrested.

“Human trafficking, international drug trafficking is just not possible without corruption and official complicity. It’s just not possible,” says ex Hawks Investigator, Marcel Van Der Watt.

However, after almost 11 years behind bars Thando Pendu was granted an amnesty. She landed at OR Tambo international Airport on 22 June.

Her family was waiting excitedly; so too were armed police, deployed by the Hawks to protect her from threats by the syndicate that trafficked her. But Pendu is unfazed.

“What I’d like to do is talk about human trafficking. They are all taking advantage of young girls, especially the ones coming from poor families and the ones who want fast money. But when you get into trouble, they don’t want to know you.”

The full Special Assignment investigation will be broadcast this Sunday on SABC 3 and SABC News Channel 404  at 8pm slot due to Afcon 2019. Author- Hazel Friedman 

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