Dudu Myeni tries to assault TimesLIVE photographer Sandile Ndlovu

TimesLIVE and Sunday Times have condemned the attempted assault on photographer Sandile Ndlovu by former SAA board chair Dudu Myeni.

Ndlovu attended proceedings at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on April 11, where the corruption trial of former president Jacob Zuma was due to begin.

Ndlovu spotted Myeni, a close confidante of Zuma, in conversation with another of his supporters, Carl Niehaus, and photographed them together.

However, despite being in a public place, inside the high court building near the entrance, Myeni took exception to Ndlovu’s performance of his duties and manhandled him.

Ndlovu said after Myeni, Niehaus and Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla emerged from the waiting room inside the court building, he moved towards them to photograph them. The group tried to avoid being photographed but he followed Myeni, who tried to hide her face behind Niehaus.

“They were steps away from me when I took the photographs but before I could even think, she grabbed my camera and pulled my bag. She said: ‘Why are you doing this? Why are you doing this?’ She wanted to hit me, but she missed,” Ndlovu said.

“When I entered court, she again confronted me, asking: ‘Sandile, why are you taking my photograph? You don’t do this to whites, but you are doing this to a black woman.’ I tried to engage her, but she told me not to give her an answer and literally told me to shut up.”

TimesLIVE and Sunday Times have condemned the behaviour of Myeni and her attempts to prevent Ndlovu doing his job.

The media was entitled to report on events in court buildings, to photograph individuals and their supporters outside court, and to cover proceedings inside the courtroom with the permission of the presiding officer, the news organisations said.

Myeni knows that all too well, as she is an accused in a criminal matter at the high court in Johannesburg relating to her naming of an in-camera witness before the state capture inquiry, TimesLIVE and Sunday Times said.

The news organisations have called on justice minister Ronald Lamola and chief justice Raymond Zondo to ensure courts are places where journalists are able to work unimpeded and inform readers, viewers and listeners about matters being heard and the events surrounding them.

Sunday Times and TimesLIVE editor-in-chief S’thembiso Msomi said: “When we send our journalists to cover stories through the length and breadth of our country, the last thing we expect is rage and attacks, especially from those who from time to time occupy leadership positions in society. This is despicable.”

TimesLIVE