Broadcaster Bans Mbeki's Critics

South Africa's public broadcaster has banned high-profile critics of the government from its programmes, fuelling claims of bias towards the ruling African National Congress. At least six political analysts who have on occasion criticised the president, Thabo Mbeki, and his allies have been blacklisted on the grounds that they are ill-informed.

The decision followed several censorship rows that prompted accusations that the SABC had become a mouthpiece for the ANC, just as it was once a propaganda tool for the apartheid regime. It ditched a documentary critical of the president and refused to show images of a cabinet minister being booed during a speech.

This week it emerged that producers had been instructed not to use certain commentators, including Vukani Mde, William Gumede, Vuyo Mvoko, Karima Brown, Aubrey Matshiqi and Xolela Mangcu, an eclectic list of analysts and authors. The president's brother, Moeletsi Mbeki, a critic of some government policies, was also said to have been banned, though SABC recently ran an interview he had given to the BBC.

The blacklist was drawn up by the head of news, Snuki Zikalala, an ANC member and former government spokesman who answers to a board appointed by an ANC-dominated parliamentary committee.

Peter Bruce, the editor of Business Day, said the exclusion of some of his newspaper's columnists was absurd. "The editorial credibility of the SABC is in such free fall it may be a good thing we are not involved in any of their programming."

The broadcaster said it gave its audience balanced news coverage, including stories about the ruling party's internal battles over who would succeed Mr Mbeki. A spokesman, Kaizer Kganyago, said it preferred professional commentators who were attached to academic institutions relevant to particular stories.