Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma Challenges BCCSA Ruling Over SAFM Interview

• March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma said her lawyers submitted evidence to the BCCSA challenging a ruling against her SAFM interview
• The BCCSA upheld a complaint against SAFM over unsubstantiated claims Ngobese-Zuma made about foreign nationals on The National Pulse
• SAFM issued a public apology after the broadcasting watchdog found the station breached its code of conduct

SOUTH AFRICA - March and March Movement leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma is pushing back. She announced that her legal team has formally submitted evidence to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA), contesting a ruling that found she made unsubstantiated claims about foreign nationals during a live radio interview.

Ngobese-Zuma took to Facebook to share the update with her followers, writing:

"My lawyers have made submissions on my behalf to the BCCSA to address the matter of SA Fm."

She further said they had attached multiple pieces of evidence to support the things she said during the interview with Ashraf Garda.

What the BCCSA ruling said

BCCSA commissioner Advocate Ben Winks upheld a complaint against SABC's SAFM last week, relating to a 3 June episode of The National Pulse. The complaint was brought by Christopher Rutledge, a social justice activist who works with mining-affected communities.

During the broadcast, Ngobese-Zuma was given airtime to respond to a report by GroundUp's Daniel Steyn, which had already disputed several of her claims about foreign nationals. On air, she alleged that foreign nationals were responsible for 60% of serious crime in Gauteng, that they were establishing military bases inside South Africa, smuggling explosives into the country, and paying off police officers to avoid prosecution. She further claimed that local NGOs and NPOs were using foreign funding to purchase weapons.

Presenter Ashraf Garda did not challenge any of these claims during the interview.

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SAFM apologises after ruling

Following the BCCSA's finding that SAFM breached its broadcasting code, the station issued a public apology. The ruling centred on the fact that the claims made during the interview were aired without being verified or contested by the presenter in the moment.

Ngobese-Zuma, who leads the anti-immigrant organisation March and March, maintains that her statements were grounded in fact and that her legal team has the evidence to prove it. She is now awaiting the BCCSA's response to the submissions.

Jacinta doubles down on foreign national claims

Briefly News also reported that Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma addressed the crowd at the Moore Road rally where she was defiant in her remarks, pushing back against claims that she fabricates crime data involving foreign nationals. Speaking to demonstrators gathered around her, she asked directly whether she had lied when she stated there were armed foreign nationals present at the protest — a rhetorical challenge that drew a response from the crowd.

Source: Briefly News