Roman poet Juvenal asks an important question: “Quis custodiet Ipsos custodes?” It translates to “Who will guard the guards?” Juvenal was questioning the integrity of those in positions of authority or those tasked with oversight. It is a question that has often been asked about leaders in our society, but it is rarely asked about those with whom we entrust our democracy itself — journalists.
When it comes to journalists, there are often two schools of thought. The first, supported by democrats in general, tends to view journalists and journalism as a profession, as being above reproach. It argues, correctly, that journalists are the critical guardrail for our democracy — that freedom of the press is not just important for democracy, but that it is democracy itself. On the other hand, some argue that journalists are afforded unfettered power that is sometimes used for destructive reasons.
The latter perspective is especially popular with politicians. At home, we have seen it with the likes of EFF leader Julius Malema, whose scathing attacks on journalists is on record. Further afield, we have the likes of US President Donald Trump, whose disregard for journalism and attacks on journalists are so dangerous that the courts have had to intervene.
Just two days ago, a federal court judge ordered the White House to restore full access for the Associated Press to cover presidential events after Trump’s administration imposed a ban on the media outlet owing to its refusal to follow his executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. This is vile. But the media, and journalists in particular, are not and should never be above criticism.
Journalists should educate the public and report objectively. When they deviate from this, we must hold them accountable.
I raise this in the context of the sustained assaults on the person of Rand Water CEO Sipho Mosai, who has been subjected to unfair treatment by some media outlets and journalists. Over the past few years, SA media has had a field day reporting inaccurately and at times, downright falsely, about Mosai and Rand Water as an institution.
Some of these reports have gone so far as to imply that a man with more than 20 years in the water sector, who has led an institution that consistently exceeds its targets, obtains unqualified audit outcomes and has received numerous local and global awards for the recognition of excellent service, is inept. This sentiment was an echo of a targeted and discredited campaign led by the DA in Gauteng to have him removed as Rand Water CEO back in 2023.
Some of the inaccuracies pertaining to Rand Water can be chalked down to limited understanding of water legislation, which often results in the legal responsibilities of the entity being confused with those of municipalities. And while it is expected for those tasked with communicating information to the public to conduct impeccable research, I can appreciate that some misunderstanding can still occur. But there is a seemingly intentional way in which reporting about Mosai is sometimes done characterised by decontextualising his arguments on issues of water consumption.
Recently, he was accused of having attributed Gauteng’s water challenges to high levels of consumption by residents when in reality, he was drawing parallels between average consumption in SA and the rest of the world, as well as detailing how poor water infrastructure and poor water governance pose great risk to water security in the province.
This is not a small error — it is the type of reporting that destroys someone’s career (which is easy to do to black professionals in a country where they are already treated with suspicion and reduced to beneficiaries of “cadre deployment” and tokenism). It also provokes violent protests in a country where there is already a trust deficit between the people and the government.
Journalists should educate the public and report objectively. When they deviate from this, we must hold them accountable. Our democracy depends on it.
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