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Members of the ANC in the Western Cape protest in front of the eNCA office in Cape Town. (Supplied)
- The district attorney said he intended to file complaints with the SAHRC against the ANC and the EFF for “racial harassment.”
- According to the Prosecutor’s Office, these complaints were made by the parties‘reactions to eNCA reporter Lindsay Dentlinger’s mask saga.
- Dentlinger was recorded asking a black politician to put on the mask while interviewing him, while allegedly not doing the same with a white politician.
The district attorney has announced that he will file a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission against the ANC and the EFF for racial harassment in connection with the backlash around the saga of masks by eNCA reporter Lindsay Dentlinger.
Dentlinger was criticized and accused of racism after video clips of her interviews appeared outside Parliament during the budget speech.
News24 previously reported that it had interviewed FF Plus leader Pieter Groenewald when he was not wearing a mask and when he addressed UDM Vice President Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, he asked him to keep the mask on.
Dentlinger has since denied the claims and his employer, eNCA, said the inconsistent behavior regarding Covid-19 protocols during live interviews was not racially motivated.
Following the appearance of the video clips, the ANC and various civil organizations have protested, while the EFF has spoken out against their actions.
READ | FACT CHECK | ENCA’s Lindsay Dentlinger: We analyzed the video that caused racist protests and 24 other interviews
In a statement Friday, the district attorney’s Natasha Mazzone said she would approach the commission to file a complaint after the Dentlinger clips had been debunked.
“The ANC launched a campaign against racism, as well as a protest led by ANC Under Secretary General Jessie Duarte, effectively branding Dentlinger a racist without reviewing the evidence. The party further fueled tensions by claiming that the channel had a ‘History of mistreatment of black people,’ Mazzone added.
“The EFF also called for a total boycott of the news channels, labeling them a propaganda arm of ‘white monopoly capital’ – a narrative that the EFF constantly perpetuates when it pays to score political points.
“It has now emerged that parts of the video come from much older interviews, some of which were conducted before the pandemic or before masks were required.
“This fully explains why some MPs did not wear masks during some interviews, while others were asked to do so. The clips above were selectively used in montage to pretend that white MPs were not asked to wear masks while that to the black parliamentarians yes “, added. .
Mazzone said the ANC and the EFF seized the opportunity to use the video as a tactic to further exploit racial tensions among South Africans.
READ | South African Human Rights Commission to Investigate eNCA’s Lindsay Dentlinger for Allegations of Racism
He added that this amounted to provoking a race to irritate certain audiences, which was dangerous, especially when assumptions are made without proof.
“Both the ANC and the EFF have intentionally incorporated themselves into this narrative to provoke tensions and play a very dangerous game, a game they have been playing for years without shame.
“The Office of the Prosecutor unequivocally believes that racism and discrimination must be condemned without fear or favor. However, racial hostility by the ANC and the EFF has no place in the democratic society of South Africa.”
Meanwhile, the commission said it would investigate the incident after complaints were received against Dentlinger.
“The complaints allege that Dentlinger treated interviewees differently on the basis of their race in interviews conducted outside of Parliament during the budget speech on February 24, 2020,” it added in a statement.
News24 reported that after the incident, SA’s Broadcasting Complaints Commission (BCCSA) had received 46 complaints.
However, only 11 of the complaints met the necessary criteria, BCCSA registrar Shouneez Martin said.
