The University of Cape Town released a link to a letter by the institution’s Interim Vice-Chancellor, Emeritus Professor Daya Reddy. The tweet suggested that Reddy wrote to reiterate the UCT executive’s commitment to dealing with the current issues and to express gratitude to members of the university community for their patience and support.
News24 Editor-in-Chief, Adriaan Basson, re-tweeted the post with the comment “no fashion or dancing videos while Rome is burning.”
Phakeng says history can’t be re-written.
“Wildly you are the most unethical editor in South Africa but aren’t even creative enough at concocting stuff” said UCT’s former Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, in response to Basson’s re-tweet. She also alerted Basson that ‘ROME’ only burnt once during her tenure, “naturally by the way”. “Guess who was on the ground?” she asked.
Phakeng further adds that she was on sabbatical leave at the time when she posted a dancing video, and on retirement when she posted boxing gloves. “Even if I posted dancing videos during protests, it’s myopic and parochial to assume that dancing for a minute and doing work are mutually exclusive” she said.
Phakeng added that she consistently woke up in the early mornings to start work at 05:00am. She also told Basson that she does do not and will never fit in the box that [he] is trying to put her in.
Phakeng told Basson that he can unfortunately never rewrite history to fit the narrative that he is working so hard to perpetuate. She added that Basson consistently used [his] platforms to spread hogwash in her name, and that she could never defend herself. “That time is over; I will not be bullied by you or any of your colleagues” she said.
The Mazogroup Chief Executive Officer, Zonkezakhe Mahlangu, commented on Phakeng’s response, and said “you don’t have to explain yourself Prof. He is just not worth it.”
Phakeng said that Basson is used to bullying her, and writing lies about “me because he knows that I will come back here smiling.”
Another tweep ‘Constitution First’ commented and advised Phakeng that [they] are not interested in Phakeng’s facts. In support of the statement, the twitter user added that “facts are dull and don’t sell. Propaganda with sprinkles of racism and misogyny keeps them going.”
An astounding South African broadcast journalist speaks.
In response to Basson’s retweet, Aldrin Sampear, an astounding South African broadcast journalist said “No man Adriaan. This is yet another example of how the conduct of newsroom managers further diminishes the confidence news audience [has] in the media.” He added that Basson’s conduct is also detrimental to the relationship between his “foot soldiers” and newsmakers.
According to his SA FM profile, Sampear is known to “relentlessly anchor himself and the audience on ethical, true-story reporting amid faux news delivery that challenges the profession of journalism in its entirety.”
In response to Sampear’s comment, Basson asked “please help me understand your outrage, Aldrin.” He added that the former Vice Chancellor, Professor Mokgethi Phakeng, “literally posted about fashion, dancing, and boxing gloves while her university was shutting down due to student protests.” Basson further challenged Sampear to read Emeritus Professor Reddy’s letter about the comms breakdown [within the] UCT community. “That’s what I responded to” he said.
Basson apologizes
On Wednesday, March 15, Basson posted a tweet with an apology for his previous tweet in response to a tweet by UCT. In his Apology, Basson said that he apologizes [if] his tweet caused hurt or created the wrong impression that a VC can’t lead and have fun at once. He added that that was not the point that he was trying to make.
“If you read Prof. Reddy’s statement and followed the tumultuous exit of Prof Phakeng you would have understood the context” he adds. Basson then justifies his initial tweet, stating that Professor Mokghethi Phakeng was still the Vice-Chancellor at the University of Cape Town when the protests started on February 24.
Basson further added that “if you were a UCT student, parent or lecturer; you would not have known about it by following Professor Phakeng’s posts.” He further said that UCT’s communications about the protests have been terrible, and added that he has learnt that twitter does not tolerate criticism of Prof Phakeng.
“I will stay in my lane and await the finalization of the Mpati Commission report” he further said.
Tweeps claim that Basson’s apology was not real.
The Economic Freedom Fighter’s, Naledi Mpungose, replied to Basson’s apology and claimed that it is the worst apology that she has ever come across. Mpungose claims that the apology is mired in manipulation and blatant lies. She added that “you must be a pathological liar to report someone’s exit on the 22nd of February and then blame them for events on the 24th as part of the apology.”
Multi-award-winning journalist and editor, Makhosazana Zwane-Siguqa, also slammed Basson’s apology. “This type of apology is not accepted Adriaan” said the Truelove Editor-in-Chief who has over fifteen years’ experience in the media industry. Zwane-Siguqa claimed that it wasn’t the first time that Basson did something of this nature to Phakeng.
“You have relentlessly taken shots at [Phakeng]. [We] even had a private conversation about this. There are two accounts, personal and UCTVC. You should know this” she said.
Phakeng also responded to Basson’s apology saying that [he] announced [her] retirement on February 22, 2023. She said that she was peacefully dining with her students at their residences during 24, 25, and 26 February as there were no chaos. “if anything had burnt, you would have been the first to report that, but you didn’t because you knew [that] I was the last person to blame.
Opinion
Professional integrity is the foundation of a journalist’s credibility, and the South African Press Code compels journalists to commit to the highest standards in order to retain credibility and public trust. This includes, among other things, always seeking the truth and avoiding undue harm. While there are limited rules relating to a journalist’s personal social media accounts. Reporters should generally conduct themselves in the same manner on social media as they would in person. They should not say or publish anything that would embarrass them personally, professionally, or as a representative of their organization.
