Ruling by the Press Ombud
29 July 2016
This ruling is based on the written submissions of Dr. Prophet Samuel Radebe of The Revelation Church of God, and those of Kevin Ritchie, editor of the Star newspaper.
Radebe is complaining about a story in The Star of 30 June 2016, headlined Commission chair death threats: man in dock.
Complaint
Radebe complains that the story:
· unfairly referred to him as “controversial”; and
· falsely stated that he had forced members of his congregation to gather earth from the graves of their relatives and to worship while carrying spears.
He concludes that these statements were defamatory of him, and that they have unnecessarily tarnished his dignity and reputation.
The text
The story, written by Shain Germaner, was about a court case regarding a man, Koabeng Qhobeka, who had allegedly made death threats against Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL) head Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva.
Qhobeka reportedly was a congregant of “controversial pastor, Samuel Radebe” – who had been charged (for refusing to appear before a police commission of investigation).
Germaner also wrote, “Media reports claim that Radebe had forced his congregation to gather earth from their relatives’ graves and worship carrying spears.”
The arguments
Ritchie submits that Radebe is controversial – he refused to attend a hearing into church affairs last year, and received a fair amount of media coverage as a result of that.
The editor also argues that the word “controversy” is defined by the Collins English Dictionary as “a dispute, argument or debate about which there is strong disagreement and especially one carried on in public or in the press”.
He concludes, “We would argue that the pastor is (a) textbook example of (this) definition.”
Richie also attests that The Star did not make the claims about the earth and spears – these were made by other media (as far back as 2014), as stated in the story.
Radebe replies that there is no excuse to intentionally defaming someone’s character and then to hide behind an assertion that the newspaper was not the originator of that defamatory statement – and without proper verification, at that.
Analysis
Controversial
Radebe should make peace with the fact that he is a controversial figure, given his position in the church and his refusal to co-operate with the police.
Earth, spears
If Germaner reported the statements about the earth and spears as fact, the newspaper would have been obliged to verify those allegations.
It happens often that the media merely repeat allegations, which then turn into statements of fact. However, The Star has evaded this pitfall – the story merely reported that those statements were made in the media (which is true and correct). I cannot expect the media to verify statements made by other publications – on condition that it is stated that the reports are allegations which were reported by those institutions (which is what The Star has done in this instance).
Finding
The complaint is dismissed.
Appeal
Our Complaints Procedures lay down that within seven working days of receipt of this decision, either party may apply for leave to appeal to the Chairperson of the SA Press Appeals Panel, Judge Bernard Ngoepe, fully setting out the grounds of appeal. He can be contacted at Khanyim@ombudsman.org.za.
Johan Retief
Press Ombud