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Journalists Targeted in South Africa's Anti-Immigrant Unrest, Press Freedom Groups Warn
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Culture & Society

Journalists Targeted in South Africa's Anti-Immigrant Unrest, Press Freedom Groups Warn

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • At least fifteen journalists have been intimidated, attacked, or threatened in South Africa while covering anti-immigrant protests, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
  • International press freedom organizations urged anti-immigrant groups to stop illegal actions and called on authorities to protect foreigners and journalists.
  • Journalists have faced threats and intimidation, with some being mistaken for foreigners due to their appearance, highlighting the dangers faced by media covering the unrest.

Journalists covering anti-immigrant protests in South Africa have become targets themselves, with at least fifteen experiencing intimidation, attacks, or threats in recent months. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and seven other international press freedom organizations issued a joint statement condemning these actions.

These organizations urged anti-immigrant groups to cease illegal activities and cease threatening journalists, while also calling on South African authorities to protect both foreign citizens and members of the press. They demanded accountability for any violations of press freedom.

If you keep filming, we will kill you.

— ProtesterA protester threatened News24 journalist Sakhiseni Nxumalo while he was filming an attack on migrants in Pietermaritzburg.

One documented case involved Sakhiseni Nxumalo, a journalist for News24, who was threatened on June 19 while filming an attack on migrants in Pietermaritzburg. He reported being mistaken for a foreigner due to his dark skin and was surrounded by a group of about twenty people. During this incident, a Malawian national, Mishack Banda, was killed, and his brother was injured.

They asked me if I was South African and demanded my ID. Then they wanted to know if I was Indian and ordered me to sing the national anthem.

— Yusuf Kosadia-HassenA student intern at News24 described being intimidated by armed protesters while covering a demonstration in Boksburg.

Another incident on June 22 saw Yusuf Kosadia-Hassen, a student intern at News24, intimidated by armed protesters while covering a demonstration in Boksburg. He was questioned about his nationality and ethnicity and ordered to sing the national anthem.

The CPJ also noted that the anti-immigrant movement March & March has begun publicly identifying journalists on social media, posting their photographs with warnings to "patriots" to watch out for them. The South African National Editors' Forum (SANEF) reported that reporters and TV crews have faced harassment in at least four provinces for their coverage of anti-immigrant attacks or for questioning xenophobic rhetoric. Xenophobic tensions against African migrants are a recurring issue in South Africa, having previously led to waves of violent protests, most notably in late 2019 when 18 foreigners were killed.

Patriots, be aware of these two journalists. They have tried to sabotage our marches.

— March & March movement social media postThe anti-immigrant movement March & March publicly identified journalists on social media, warning followers.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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