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“I was told that my days are numbered”

 

The article that a Limpopo Mirror correspondent wrote two weeks ago may be the reason he has received several threatening calls the past week. The unidentified callers are seemingly upset with a story about a Makhado councillor who is being investigated for the alleged illegal selling of houses for the poor in Tshikota.

Mr Kaizer Nengovhela received three calls the past weekend from callers who were threatening to kill him. According to Nengovhela, he received the first call last Friday evening. "The caller asked me why I wrote a story about another man’s child. The man asked me if I would support the family, since the man doesn’t have a job any more," said Nengovhela.

On Saturday evening Nengovhela received another call and this time he was told to look after himself. “When I answered the call, I was asked how I could be so while happy tarnishing someone's child's image. A woman’s voice warned me to look after myself,” he said.

On Sunday he received yet another anonymous phone call, and this time he was told that his days were numbered. Nengovhela said that he explained to the caller that it was his job to report all news without fear or favour. “If there are people threatening to kill us, how are we going to do our job?” he asked. Nengovhela has since laid charges of intimidation at the Tshilwavhusiku police station.

On Monday morning, Limpopo Mirror's newsroom came to a standstill when Cllr Itani Sikhwari, the DA's PR councillor, Cllr Bercie Jones and her spouse, Benny Jones, who is believed to be a member of the DA, visited the office. Even though Sikhwari was not talking, Cllr Bercie was criticising Nengovhela for allegedly implying that they are corrupt. “If you think I am corrupt, why don’t you go to the police and report it? Why would anyone want to kill you?” said Bercie. She added that she was not afraid of any investigation. "My hands are clean,” she added.

Mr Benny told Nengovhela that there were people who had tarnished his image and his political career before, but he had never gone to the extent of threatening to kill them. He also emphasized that they had no reason to try and intimidate a journalist.

The article that appeared in the Limpopo Mirror two weeks ago focuses on the Hawks' investigation into the conduct of a former DA councillor, Itani Sikhwari. It is alleged that Sikhwari sold RDP houses meant for the poor in Tshikota.

Mr Anton van Zyl, manager of Zoutnet Publishers, said reporters should not be subjected to threats and intimidation. "It is the reporter's role to reflect what is happening in the community. You do not break the Mirror if you don't like the image reflected," he said.

According to Van Zyl, readers who are unhappy with the content of any article should contact him or the editor and discuss it. "If there are any factual inaccuracies, we must immediately rectify this," he said. According to Van Zyl, reporters should not be blamed for reflecting certain messages. "Reporters do not decide to investigate people; that is the role of the law enforcers. If the councillor is unhappy with the fact that he is being investigated, he must voice his opinion. He was given several opportunities to comment, but preferred not to," said Van Zyl.

Two weeks ago, one of Limpopo Mirror's reporters, Elmon Tshikhudo, was assaulted by a group of angry students when he was covering a protest march at the University of Venda. Tshikhudo laid a charge of assault at the Thohoyandou police station.

 

Date:17 April 2014

By: Phathutshedzo Luvhengo

Read: 1739

 

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