DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY; IT’S NOT PERSONAL

People who are about to offend you often prefix their hogwash with, “Don’t take this personally; it’s not personal…” Of course it’s personal because all offences are.

What Hlaudi Motsoeneng is doing as the Chief Operations Officer of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is highly personal to me…and should be for all humans in the 21st century. Many will only realise how personal it is once it reaches the levels of #ZimbabweShutDown that we’re currently witnessing on the other side of the Limpopo River – where the ruling government is clutching at all the straws of the winter-thin grass; shutting down the public’s access to information on social networks such as WhatsApp. It’s the usual bully tactics of ZanuPF at play - restraining freedom of expression and association.

In an unprecedented move, Zimbabweans are saying it loud and clear that they can take only so much molestation in their lifetimes; it’s personal. The government, which has ruled since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980 has over the years systematically made sure to curb personal freedoms.

Unfortunately when some publicly air their personal frustrations, like Pastor Evan Mawarire who started the #ThisFlag movement on social media, they are jailed, purged from greater society and their houses vandalised by State agents. The irony… That a ruthless government and its fans will always respond personally to confrontation while telling you, “Don’t take it personally, it’s not personal” when you react to the negative effects of the national state of affairs of their doing.

The truth is Zimbabwe was not always like this. Neither was warring Burundi. In these two currently unstable SADC countries, repressive media laws have steadily been introduced to shutdown critics who want nothing more than public servants to account to the public they serve; for public servants to respect existing laws that favour the majority. This is where Hlaudi is taking South Africans; to another failed African State. Any Swazi journalist who has worked in South African media will tell you how naked one feels when they start working there – it’s a personal journey of largely unlearning and there’s no denying it makes you question deeply about your person.

I had to practically discard almost everything that I knew to be journalism when I joined the Kaya FM newsroom from Swazi TV in 2005.
Apart from the nice cars and lifestyles journalists could afford just from their salaries, I was stunned to witness how the South Africans engaged some news sources. I had joined Kaya FM at the same time as Lindelwa Mthembu who had come from eTV news.

This feisty lady must have thought I was lazy when I told her a government spokesperson said to call us back in about 10 minutes with a comment. At exactly 10 minutes later said spin doctor had not called and she called him herself. It turned out he was trying to evade us.

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