Times Of Swaziland: BHEKI SPOILT IT FOR JOURNOS

BHEKI SPOILT IT FOR JOURNOS
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Editor on 16/09/2024 08:02:00


Sir,
For such a veteran journalist to refer to the King ‘Lobabe lo’is unSwati.
It’s a ‘Cry the Beloved Country’,for the whole media fraternity. How do
you blame government for suspending the monthly media briefing?Journalist  Bheki
Makhubu, has undermined even his own profession; ignoring professional ethics
and guidelines is tantamount to failing your own profession.
Media needs to apologise to emaSwati for what Bheki Makhubu did. We feel sorry
for our prime minister, “Siyamncesitela wenkhosi” to find himself subjected
to such hostile behaviour, while trying hard to promote transparency.
Media is supposed to be the one calling their own to order and protecting their
integrity and profession from hijack by white supremacy mentality opportunists.
You don’t go to African leaders’ news conference with a colonialism
mentality and expect African leaders to listen and respect whatever point you
raise, simply because you call yourself a journalist, without proper conduct: In
the context of African psychology, that is called ‘respect your
authorities!!!’.
Nhlanhla Zwane
Right to reply
That’s the thing, how was I supposed to respond to the PM except to comment on
his own performance and behaviour? How does a person get judged when performance
is what is at stake? Performance or the lack there of is based on personal
ability. Unless someone can show me how else one judges performance, I’d say I
wasn’t wrong.To refer to the King as ‘Babe’ can’t be an insult in
siSwati because it’s always used in a respectful manner to someone else.
Unless this person is saying our King is not a man, a father and a monarch. Ngu
Babe wemaSwati lo. I certainly won’t be taking lessons on siSwati from this
chap, I know my language and culture, thank you very much. And I’m not a
child. If he has nothing to criticise me on, he can always ignore me and move
on.
Bheki Makhubu