Chairperson, the ANC welcomes the ruling of the Press Ombudsman to dismiss the frivolous and baseless complaint laid by the DA against two journalists, Karima Brown and Vukani Mde recently.
This follows the complaint by the DA that the two prominent journalists of Independent Newspapers attended the 103rd birthday celebrations of the ANC on 10 January 2015, in the ANC's attire, saying that this compromised their independency and impartiality.
The ANC agrees fully with the ombudsman that there is nothing wrong when a journalist in his or her private or personal capacity attends a rally as long as they do not violate the press code of conduct by such acts as taking bribes or engaging in conflicts of interest. Neither Karima nor Vukani Mde wrote about the ANC rally for their publications.
As usual, the DA has gone on a fishing expedition wanting to demonise anything and anyone who shows support for the ANC. We once again want to remind the DA that freedom of speech means that everyone in this country is at liberty to hold and share their own views on any matter. It does not mean that it is only voices that are anti-ANC that should be heard. I thank you. [Applause].