Yesterday respected financial editors Peter Bruce and Tim Cohen were accosted by a Gupta-funded mob outside the former’s Parkview residence. For me, it was close to home. I know both journalists well and lived in the previously peaceful suburb most of my 30 years in Johannesburg. This “protest” is the latest in a line of attack that is moving from social media to the real world.
Such developments should worry all South Africans. Free media is one of the twin foundations upon which this country’s constitutional democracy is built. As with the public prosecutors, magistrates and judges who ensure the honest functioning of its courts of law; the safety of those operating in the court of public opinion must be guaranteed.
I hope the latest incidents, spur media companies in possession of the #GuptaLeaks hard drives to give a copy to the SAPS. Without evidence, the cops cannot charge the Saxonwold Shebeen owners who have deeply corrupted so many. Paul O’Sullivan tells us 90% of SA policemen are good people. It’s time to trust his judgement and give them the tools to act once and for all against president Jacob Zuma’s crony capitalist friends.
