Share

SABC judgment to be handed down in Joburg

Johannesburg - Judgment in the case of the four axed SABC employees will now be handed down in the Labour Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday, as opposed to Cape Town, trade union Solidarity said.

"It will be handed down at 10:00 at the Labour Court here in Johannesburg," Solidarity chief executive Dirk Hermann told News24 on Monday.

He said the judgment will be handed down by a colleague of Judge Robert Lagrange.

Lagrange previously said in proceedings on Friday that he would provisionally hand down judgment on Monday, or in Cape Town on Tuesday.

On Monday morning, the union was told the judgment would be handed down in Cape Town on Tuesday. This has now, however, been changed.

The four journalists are Foeta Krige, Suna Venter, Krivani Pillay and Jacques Steenkamp. They are asking the court to set aside their dismissals and that their disciplinary processes be revoked in its entirety.

Application for access to Constitutional Court

READ: 'Make Hlaudi pay' - SABC staffers' lawyer

The other reporters who were notified of their dismissals last week were Thandeka Gqubule, Busisiwe Ntuli and Lukhanyo Calata.

They had criticised the broadcaster's policy to not broadcast footage of violent protests.

Reporter Vuyo Mvoko filed papers in the High Court in Johannesburg on Friday, asking for an order that the SABC's decision not to "schedule" him constitutes a breach of his freelance contract.

All eight have applied for direct access to the Constitutional Court.

The Helen Suzman Foundation and the broadcaster reached an agreement on Wednesday which saw the High Court in Pretoria interdicting the broadcaster from enacting its policy.

The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) ruled on July 11 that the SABC had to withdraw its resolution, announced in May, to ban showing footage of violent protests.

Chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng initially said after the ruling that no one could tell the SABC what to do and that they would challenge Icasa's decision in court.

However, in a surprise turn Icasa said on Wednesday afternoon that the SABC agreed to comply with the ruling.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How often do you go to the cinema to watch new movies?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Often - nothing beats the big screen
2% - 18 votes
Hardly - I prefer streaming online
68% - 639 votes
Sometimes - it depends on the film release
30% - 284 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
19.16
-0.8%
Rand - Pound
23.85
-0.7%
Rand - Euro
20.42
-0.6%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.32
-0.6%
Rand - Yen
0.12
-0.6%
Platinum
955.50
+0.3%
Palladium
1,039.50
+0.4%
Gold
2,385.71
+1.0%
Silver
28.37
+0.5%
Brent Crude
87.29
-3.1%
Top 40
67,190
+0.4%
All Share
73,271
+0.4%
Resource 10
63,297
-0.1%
Industrial 25
98,419
+0.6%
Financial 15
15,480
+0.6%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE