EDITORIAL: Scary hours for Namibian media

The allegations by former New Era managing editor Johnathan Beukes that his former employer is under heavy-handed control of the state and that truth is being suppressed for political expediency are highly disturbing. His unceremonial departure sends a muted but symbolically loud message, especially to those in state media, that they must sing scripted political choruses or face forced exits.This cannot be taken lightly, even in the face of strong denials from the most powerful offices in the land.Some of the reasons advanced for Beukes’ suspension last year were ‘insubordination’, which under normal circumstances is a serious offence. Except, in this case, he was essentially told to look away and ignore certain stories and only focus on those that are praiseworthy of government and its actors.Whether what he published was true, objective and in the public interest did not count. He is accused of making New Era “a newspaper of leaks, instead of authoritative information-sharing”.If the media were to operate by this poor logic, none of the corruption and other abuses that the media in this country has uncovered would have been known to date. Plunder and thievery would have continued unabated.Fishrot did not reach the media through “authoritative information-sharing”, nor did the SSC-Avid scandal. Beukes paid a price for sticking to the truth and asking relevant questions like how High Court judges are appointed. One of the official correspondences states that under Beukes, New Era published “negative news about government and public enterprises, as well as local and regional councils”.Whether this news reflected truth about these entities did not matter. It must simply not be published. Scary hours, indeed.

EDITORIAL: Scary hours for Namibian media

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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EDITORIAL: Scary hours for Namibian media

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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