Snuki Zikalala is the president of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

(ANC) Veterans' League in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, and former Managing Director of news and current affairs of the

South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's state ...

Early life

Before joining the SABC, Zikalala spent 25 years in journalism and earned numerous awards, including the SA Medical Association's best medical reporter and government's communicator of the year.

Education

Zikalala holds a BA Hons (industrial

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

) from

Wits University The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

and an MA and PhD, both in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

, from

Sofia University Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

Criticism

During his role at the SABC, Zikalala attracted criticism for his pro-

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

stance. He was accused of using the publicly funded national broadcaster as a propaganda tool, sparking fears of a return to the days when the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

used it as such. Zikalala blacklisted various independent commentators from appearing on national television, and was harshly criticized by an independent commission for doing so. Zikalala stated in an address given at

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

that "The SABC is not the mouthpiece of the government of the day, nor should it broadcast its opinion of government policies, unless they relate directly to broadcasting matters". In the same address he accused

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

's media company of having "an unashamedly neo-liberal agenda". In an attempt to hit back at the print media, Zikalala oversaw the launching of a program called ''In the Public Interest''. Zikalala stated that "just as the print criticises us, we will be able to criticise them". In a response, the Freedom of Expression Institute criticized this move, stating that "The SABC is merely the custodian of this public resource. It is inappropriate for the SABC to use a public resource as a platform for individuals in the SABC to settle scores with individuals in other media." Zikalala also continually denied the ongoing crisis in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. During an interview with Jeremy Maggs on

SAFM SAFM (official callsign: 5SSA) is a commercial FM radio station owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo as part of the Hit Network. The station is broadcast to Adelaide, South Australia from studios in Franklin Street. History The stati ...

he stated that "There is food, it's just very expensive". In the same interview he also said that during his stay at the Sheraton in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

he had been able to order

Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky now owned by Diageo that originated in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire. The brand was first established by grocer John Walker. It is the most widely distributed brand of blended Sc ...

Black Label and

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases. T ...

and accordingly didn't understand what everyone was on about. On 6 May 2008, Snuki Zikalala was suspended with immediate effect by Dali Mpofu, Group CEO of the

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's stat ...

. Soon afterwards, Dali Mpofu himself was suspended by the SABC board.

References

South African journalists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{Africa-journalist-stub