On September 19, 2023, two journalists in South Africa were assaulted in separate incidents at a bank and a post office, respectively. In the first incident, four security guards at Standard Bank, on the instruction of the bank’s manager for internal protection services, intimidated and assaulted journalist Lerato Mutsila of the news outlet Daily Maverick and deleted video and photos from her phone despite her having identified herself. The incident occurred when she was reporting on the Extinction Rebellion protest at the bank headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa. The incident was condemned by the South African Editors Forum (SANEF) as a violation of press freedom. Mutsila reported the assault to the South African Police Service. Following the condemnation, the bank sent a letter of apology to Daily Maverick in which it underscored its respect for press freedom, as part of an agreement after a meeting between the bank and SANEF. In the second incident, eNCA reporter Hloni Mtimkulu was physically manhandled and pushed out of a South African Post Office branch while she was interviewing government grant beneficiaries on their recent experience with the non-payment of grants.
IPI Africa Media Freedom TrackerCensorship and regulationDeletion of contentPhysical attack on journalists, media infrastructure/officesVerbal, online or physical attack