Mercury: Police rescue news team after fracas (Motala Heights)

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Photographer was threatened
Police rescue news team after fracas

The Mercury

September 04, 2007 Edition 1

Greg Ardé

Durban Metro Police had to rescue a Mercury photographer from Motala Heights, near Pinetown, where he was prevented from leaving the area after an argument with a local land owner.

The photographer said he had been bullied and his life was threatened.

At the time of the incident on Friday, he and a reporter were on assignment, covering the plight of residents of an informal settlement adjoining and on Ricky Govender’s property. 

Approached for comment, Govender said the reporters were “making up stories” to portray him as a “gangster”. He denied threatening them, saying they had “confused” him with someone else.

“They are totally mistaken. I said they were trespassing . . . I paid R1 million for this property at an auction and I have been trying to develop it the legal way for the past five years . . . I don’t have money to put up a fence . . . but the municipality says it is my responsibility to keep squatters off,” he said.

Some residents say they live in fear of Govender, who wants to demolish the shacks to make way for a development. Last November, the high court interdicted the municipality from demolishing the shacks.

Richard Pithouse, of the shack dwellers’ movement, Abahlali base Mjondolo, witnessed the incident on Friday, when the newspaper was trying to take photographs of industrial waste allegedly dumped near the homes.

While the photographer was taking pictures of residents, including a 6-year-old child, two men came running towards them, shouting.

The men threatened to “f . . . up” the photographer.

The photographer said two men had asked him who had given them permission to take photographs.

“Richard Pithouse said we were living in a democracy and we could take any photographs we wanted,” the photographer said. “They continued to shout and get aggressive . . . at this point, the ladies (including the reporter) and the child moved away.”

“Richard and I were cornered by three men, who continued to shout and swear at us . . . they demanded the camera and pushed and poked me, all the time refusing to let Richard and I pass them. One of them then forcefully and violently took my camera away from me, and took out the memory card,” he said.

The reporter telephoned her colleagues at the newspaper, who consulted lawyers and contacted the police, who travelled to the scene.

Pithouse said in an affidavit that one man had told the photographer that they would “find him and have him killed” if The Mercury ran a story.

“He said he had shotguns in his house, and that he had the support of the Pinetown SAPS and Jacob Zuma. He stressed how well connected he was and mentioned Zuma’s name a couple of times.”

Pithouse said one Metro Police officer had drawn his weapon when they arrived.

An argument had ensued, during which one man claimed that the Mercury team was trespassing. The Mercury team contended there were no signs to indicate they were on private land.

There was a tug-of-war between a constable and one of the men over photographs that had been printed off the photographer’s memory stick. The police ordered the men to return the memory stick or face charges of theft. They did so.

“The Mercury team was escorted out of Motala by the police,” said Pithouse. This was confirmed by the Metro Police.

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Click here to see the Freedom of Expression Institute statement that makes reference to the threats against Mercury journalists by Ricky Govender, dubbed the Mugabe of Motala (on account of his attitude towards both the media and shack dwellers).