IT is incomprehensible that black South Africans who bore the brunt of apartheid are able to trust ex apartheid prosecutor Koos Bekker’s News24.
Naspers, News24’s parent company, has a notorious history as the media arm of the apartheid National Party, with editors even attending PW Botha’s cabinet meetings.
This close relationship extended to the regime’s most heinous activities, including leaking information that played a role in orchestrating assassinations, torture, and the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and others.
News24’s current mission seems clear – protect President Cyril Ramaphosa and attack his detractors. This bias is not just a matter of slant but a continuation of a legacy steeped in misinformation.
This from the very same organisation that helped legitimise apartheid state terror but now presents itself as a beacon of integrity.
This notwithstanding questions and accusations of Ramaphosa’s own links to the apartheid security forces, as articulated by members of parliament in the national assembly previously.
Even more startling is how News24 has gone conspicuously silent on the Phala Phala scandal involving Ramaphosa. This silence is not just an oversight, it is part of a broader pattern.
News24 has aggressively pushed for the current alliance between the DA and ANC which is best demonstrated by the shockingly arrogant piece by News24 Deputy Editor Pieter Du Toit entitled: “The ANC, at 40%, must accept its new reality and agree to terms with the DA”.
How can an outlet with such a tainted history be trusted? It cannot, in my opinion! News24’s connections to apartheid-era crimes and its current political machinations suggest that it is more of a tool of influence than a news source.
It suggests that there is something broader at play, perhaps a network designed and operated to preserve the status quo of a system that is built on the blood and sweat of black South Africans.
Let’s not forget that Bekker was involved in the appointment of Phuti Mahanyele Dabengwa, a former chief executive of Ramaphosa’s Shanduka group as Naspers SA chief executive, which ultimately controls News24. Perhaps more of these dots need to be connected.
For a nation still healing from its past, the need for trustworthy, unbiased journalism is critical. News24 is ill-equipped to provide it. Perhaps the historical ties to apartheid’s propaganda machine are too strong, the mission too clear, and the history too dark?