Court dismisses MK case against SABC over usage of ‘GNU’

MK

Cape Town — The Johannesburg High Court dismissed the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party’s bid to prevent the SABC from using the term ‘Government of National Unity (GNU).

The party submitted its arguments on Monday, having had its previous applications dismissed from the urgent court due to a lack of urgency. The party argued that the SABC’s conduct is unconstitutional and invalid, and the term “GNU” is misleading to the public.

MK leader, Jacob Zuma, said the current political setup does not meet the criteria to be called a GNU and that millions of South Africans rely on SABC as a primary news source.

According to TimesLIVE, the party’s counsel, advocate Dali Mpofu, argued that the SABC had a responsibility as a public broadcaster to provide impartial reporting and the use of the GNU was inaccurate, arguing instead that the current political administration should be referred to as an “ANC-DA coalition”.

The SABC opposed the application and maintained that it had not breached its editorial code by using the term ‘GNU’. Judge Denise Fisher said the case was not a constitutional matter and not one where the court had any jurisdiction.

The SABC opposed the application and said the public broadcaster had not breached its editorial code by using the term.

In her judgment on Friday, Judge Denise Fisher said this was not a constitutional matter and it was not one where the court had jurisdiction.

As reported by SABC News, the court further noted that the challenge is “so obviously without foundation that it is difficult to accept that it has been brought to further any real interest either of the applicants or more generally”.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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