Civil society organisation the Campaign for Free Expression wants the Parliamentary ad-hoc committee investigating allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to ensure that the platform is not used to make “unverified smears”.

This after Mkhwanazi, during his testimony before the committee, called for journalists to be investigated by the State Security Agency and even face imprisonment for misinformation.

Campaign for Free Expression executive director Nicole Fritz said Mkhwanazi’s accusations against members of the media were particularly sinister, pointing out that his remarks were made without any substantiation.

“…such exhortations do not merely impugn reputations; they place journalists in real danger and threaten those who might approach them with vital disclosures about wrongdoing,” she said.

Fritz added that credible and verified journalism was indispensable.

“Journalists, often operating under threat, have provided the public with critical insight into the activities of the security and justice sectors. It is essential that they be able to continue to do so,” she said.

Threats and insinuations made against journalists from Parliament disable accountability, she warned.

She said while Mkhwanazi was allowed to set out his claims, Parliament must engage and interrogate them seriously.

Campaign for Free Expression wants the South African Police Service to reject any suggestion that counter-intelligence operations be conducted against journalists or news organisations.

“This is not to suggest that journalists are beyond criticism. They can and do err – as we saw during State capture. And yet without the media, the full predations of the State’s capture would never have been exposed. But accusations of misconduct require evidence, not insinuation. Without substantiation, they serve only to erode public trust, chill whistleblowing, and embolden those who profit from secrecy,” Fritz argued.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) laid its support for press self-regulation, and it condemned any attempt by the State or government officials to suppress media freedom and accountability in the country as “unconstitutional and undemocratic”.

DA national spokesperson Willie Aucamp pointed out that media freedom was a cornerstone of South Africa’s democracy and said any attempts by the State to intimidate, silence, or criminalise journalists, attacked the principles that support a free society.

He pointed out that journalists had been at the forefront in uncovering the looting of public funds, as in the Tembisa Hospital scandal, as well as exposing municipal failures.

“South Africa’s journalists and media houses must continue to safeguard their credibility through accuracy, fairness, and ethical integrity, as well as recourse through the press council,” he said.