Human rights activist, Khumbulani Maphosa has hailed journalists for the commendable role they play in the promotion of various rights and holding authorities to account as they execute their duties.
Maphosa, the coordinator of Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights (MIHR) was speaking at an event hosted by CITE in collaboration with the United States Embassy and Information for Development Trust (IDT) commemorating World Press Freedom Day.
Maphosa said the work of the media is closely linked to the work of activists, and where one party experiences hurdles in accessing critical information, the other chips in.
“The media is a critical partner in the promotion of human rights. As (environmental) activists, we need the media to cover the work that we do otherwise our work is useless and does not have impact. on the other hand we also take from the media what the media exposes, to become the work that we do. At some point they break the news for us and we see an opportunity to advance the work that we do,” Maphosa said.
“Sometimes when we fail to hold authorities to account, when they do not yield to our requests, we rely on the media to step in and request that information on our behalf. This has been effective on several occasions, maybe it is because the authorities and various organizations do not want “bad publicity”. They give in to the media and release the information they would have otherwise denied us access to.”
Maphosa emphasized the importance of solidarity between citizens and various organizations with the media fraternity, citing that journalists need support when they are restricted, abused or harassed while executing their duties.
“The media must be given a platform to function without undue restriction, without curtailing its work. We need to appreciate that journalists, in their day to day operations, do not necessarily work for their media outlets, they work for the citizens. They inform and educate the masses. But the question also arises, do the citizens consume the content that is created for them,” he said.
“We need to move away from the mentality that journalists are superior beings with super powers. Despite the mammoth tasks that they execute, they are human beings. They need emotional support and psycho-social support because they deal with work that is difficult and stressing. As CSOs and other organizations, we need to check on journalists often, advocate their welfare the same way that they always come to the rescue of those who need their services of news coverage.”
