Journalists Against Apartheid (JAA) is calling for urgent accountability from the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef). The group claims Sanef failed to address corruption concerns effectively.
Makhudu Sefara has stepped aside as chairperson of the Sanef last week, following a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report into the National Lotteries Commission. The SIU alleges that funds were redirected to a company owned by Sefara.
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Allegations of financial impropriety
The SIU investigation focuses on a 2018 grant intended to support journalists. It found that R550,000 was diverted to Unscripted Communications, a company that belongs to Sefara. He denies any wrongdoing in the matter.
Sefara states the money was used for a journalism event. However, JAA remains disappointed in the forum’s handling of the situation.
Deshnee Subraman of JAA expressed deep concern over the organisation’s ethics. “We do expect Sanef to uphold these ethics to the highest possible degree,” she said. Subraman noted that there is a huge reckoning for the fraternity now and questioned if Sanef was abdicating its responsibility to the media industry.
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Previous warnings ignored
GroundUp editor Nathan Geffen reportedly raised concerns about Sefara in 2023. These warnings related to Sefara’s previous tenure at Sunday World. That publication allegedly received disproportionate advertising from the lottery commission.
Despite these red flags, Sefara was still elected as the forum chair. Subraman noted that Sanef lacked documentation on how its executive is elected.
The forum has since appointed Tshamano Makhadi as acting chairperson, while a legal team evaluates the evidence against Sefara. JAA continues to demand an independent external panel to investigate the forum. They seek to ensure that media freedom remains protected in South Africa.
