Namibia: Journalists Gun for Hengari

ABOUT 60 journalists have jointly written to president Hage Geingob to express their dismay about the sour relationship with his press secretary, who is accused of interfering in journalists’ work.

The letter, which was sent to the Office of the President yesterday, raised issues about presidential press secretary Alfredo Hengari meddling in journalists’ reporting and hand-picking which media houses to send press releases to and which to exclude from press briefings.

The Office of the President has confirmed receipt of the letter.

The journalists urged Geingob to take remedial action “as he deems fit” to ensure that Hengari respects and upholds press freedom, and for his “nonchalant attitude” towards the media to be addressed.

The group stated that although the president has reassured the public that he values media freedom, his pledge to ensure press freedom is being subverted by Hengari.

The journalists said that since 2018, Hengari has used tactics that undermine the role of the press and claim his alleged lack of humility and continued attacks on the role of the media using his opinion pieces and presidential statements have created a sour relationship between the media and the president’s office.

The journalists further referred to several instances where members of the press experienced direct conflict with Hengari because of the manner in which the presidential press office according to them resists media freedom.

This includes dictating questions which reporters should ask the president at press conferences.

Hengari was also accused of interfering in the editorial independence of Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) television news editorial staff by pressuring them into running specific sound bites, not editing sound bites of the president and attempting to force stories onto the 20h00 news bulletin regardless of what time information was made available.

The journalists further pointed out that Hengari has on two occasions left out the media from Covid-19 briefings at which the president had to seek clarity regarding their absence.

The scribes said they have on numerous occasions tried to engage Hengari to iron out differences between the Presidency and the media, but these efforts have been met with sarcasm and condescension.

“As press secretary Hengari is supposed to create better working relations with the media. He, of all people, should understand the dynamics of the media and how best to effectively push through your message to the public,” they said.

The Editors’ Forum of Namibia on Tuesday also said the exclusion of journalists from the president’s Covid-19 media briefing on Friday last week was against an agreement reached between the forum and the government two months ago.

The chairperson of the forum, Frank Steffen, said the request for journalists not to attend the briefing was unfair.

“We adhered to the request made, directly flying in the face of what was agreed with the press secretary in the Presidency, Alfredo Hengari, and the minister of information and communication technology, Peya Mushelenga, two months ago,” Steffen stated.

He said he suggested a standard operating procedure for media events during the Covid-19 pandemic to Mushelenga at a meeting on 20 July.

Steffen also said a document which Mushelenga was comfortable with was produced after he had approached Hengari and had discussions with the information minister. The document lays out a procedure on how media events can be conducted to ensure a fair representation of both private and state media organisations at events.

“It is thus that the Editors’ Forum of Namibia seriously had to question the commitment of the president’s office, in honouring a suggested procedure that was agreed to in principle after consultation with those very offices,” Steffen said.

He added that any agreement between the forum and the government would remain subject to the government’s willingness to actually commit to an agreement.

In response to the complaints lodged regarding the president’s public briefing on Friday, Hengari earlier this week said he takes full responsibility for the fact that the presidency had to comply with the regulations and the health experts advisories regarding limitations in the number of people in one place.

“We could not take the risk of placing the health of anyone in jeopardy.

“It is fiction and illogical for anyone to try to imply that the absence of journalists at a public briefing that seeks to comply with health advisories is an affront to transparency or media freedom,” Hengari said in a statement released on Sunday.