**For background to previous incident, see IFEX alert dated 14 June 1995** Video footage in which a minister made controversial comments about a newly-formed political party went missing from the archives of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), prompting two senior producers to resign because of what they termed “political interference.” Executive Producer of Television Current […]
**For background to previous incident, see IFEX
alert dated 14 June 1995**
Video footage in which a minister made controversial comments
about a newly-formed political party went missing from the
archives of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC),
prompting two senior producers to resign because of what they
termed “political interference.” Executive Producer of Television
Current Affairs Mark Verbaan and a senior producer in the same
department, Katja Berker, resigned in protest after being denied
access to a taped NBC interview with Minister of Trade and
Industry Hidipo Hamutenya.
Acting editor of television news Asser Ntinda is said to have
removed the tape containing the interview from the NBC archives,
and refused to allow the current affairs desk to use it for a
program they were preparing on the new Swapo For Justice
(SWAPO-FJ) party. Ntinda says he would not allow the current
affairs desk to use the interview because he had given Hamutenya
an undertaking to only use the material for television news. In
the interview, Hamutenya called members of SWAPO-FJ, which claims
to have a support base in the Namibian army, “political idiots”
and “illiterates.” Says Verbaan: “This is not the first time
similar things have happened (at the NBC).” Both Verbaan and
Berker say the tape was removed for political reasons.
Verbaan and Berker were producing an edition of the current
affairs program “Public Eye”, scheduled for broadcast on 1
August. Although the dispute initially led to the cancellation of
the “Public Eye” program on Swapo-FJ, it was subsequently
broadcast on 8 August, with a new interview with Minister
Hamutenya in which he repeated the same disparaging remarks about
Swapo-FJ.
According to Assistant Producer of current affairs Esau Mbako,
NBC management has since instructed the current affairs desk that
all future editions of “Public Eye” must be vetted by management
before broadcast. Mbako says none of the other NBC departments
are required to submit programs to management for such vetting.
Acting NBC Director General Vitura Kavari said he regretted the
resignation of Verbaan and Berker, adding that, since their
resignation, management recommended disciplinary action against
Ntinda.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the Board of the NBC:
as it does so soon after a government official violated the NBC’s
editorial independence by insisting that unedited footage of a
presidential press conference be screened on NBC television news
state its commitment to the NBC’s editorial autonomy, and outline
how it intends to uphold this independence
Appeals To
Professor Rahabeam Auala
Chair of the NBC Board
c/o Namibian Broadcasting Corporation
PO Box 321
Windhoek, Namibia
Fax: +264 61 216209
Tel: +264 61 2913111
Please copy appeals to the originator if possible.
