South Africa: SAFM Apologises for Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma Interview

What the report says

South Africa’s public broadcaster, the SABC, has apologised after a complaints ruling found SAFM breached its broadcast code in a June interview with March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma. The case centred on comments made on SAFM’s The National Pulse on 3 June, where Ngobese-Zuma made a series of claims about immigrants, crime, foreign funding and security that were aired without being clearly identified as opinion or supported by evidence.

According to the ruling reported by GroundUp, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission upheld a complaint by social justice activist Christopher Rutledge. He argued that the station aired serious and inflammatory allegations as if they were factual, without verification or proper challenge. The commission found that the presenter did not sufficiently question the claims, even though an earlier segment had already examined and disputed similar assertions with GroundUp deputy editor Daniel Steyn.

Advocate Ben Winks, the commissioner, ruled that each of the five statements under review breached the Free-to-Air Code. He said the broadcaster should have made clear when information was based on opinion, supposition or allegations. The SABC was ordered to air a summary of the findings and apologise in the same programme slot. The broadcaster said it accepted responsibility and would use the decision to strengthen editorial safeguards for sensitive current affairs interviews.

The ruling has wider relevance for broadcasters covering controversial claims, especially in heated debates about migration and public safety. It reinforces the expectation that guests may be interviewed robustly, but serious factual allegations must be clearly challenged or framed as disputed.