One of the reasons for holding the World Cup was South Africa’s desire to showcase its vibrant democracy – a refutation of apartheid’s legacy which left it ostracized for several decades from the rest of the world.
It appears that Jacob Zuma is subverting that process. The feel good factor left from the World Cup is drying up quickly with the new and draconian media laws being put it into place which threaten press freedom.
The ANC is clamping down on journalism that questions and criticizes governmental integrity. Much of SA’s press devotes itself to exposing corruption within the governmental ranks – a story of how one of Zuma’s son enriched himself in a business deal with steel giants Arcelor Mittal seems to have sparked the ANC’s ire.
The recent arrests of journalists under the sinister moniker of “national interest” has evoked the feeling of censorship that existed in the apartheid era. Nadine Gordimer, SA’s Nobel Prize winning writer and a prominent anti apartheid activist voiced her concerns.
“This is the threat of a return to the censorship under apartheid,” said Ms. Gordimer, three of whose novels were banned in that era.
The new laws have sparked fears that the government is going the same route as Zimbabwe by repressing dissenting voices. A bit of irony there.