EFN turns to media ombudsman over New Era suspension

The Editors Forum Namibia (EFN) says it will ask the media ombudsman to review an editorial that landed New Era editor Johnathan Beukes in hot water.Beukes was suspended last month without being informed of the charges against him. This is after the state-owned paper published an editorial questioning the judiciary’s alleged lack of transparency.In a statement issued yesterday by its chairperson, Frank Steffen, EFN questioned the decision by New Era CEO Christof Maletsky to publish an apology on behalf of the publication, in which Beukes was accused of “wrongdoing”.“The EFN would in fact prefer that the media ombudsman in this matter consult with the previous media ombudsman, Clement Daniels, to jointly assess this matter before arriving at a conclusion," Steffen said.Process Steffen said it appeared as though management single-mindedly pursued a matter, which normally should have resulted in an aggrieved party having submitted a complaint to the media ombudsman.“Seeing that no such complaint was registered, it would seem as though there is no aggrieved party, which then begs the question of why management decided to suspend the managing editor. The EFN could have possibly respected the decision of management to suspend the editor had there been a formal complaint, which would clearly allude to suspected negligence, ill intent or malfeasance,” he said.Opinion He added: “It seems strange for the chief executive officer of New Era, Christof Maletsky, who has a journalistic background after all, to publish an article on the front page in which he not only publicly accuses the Beukes of wrongdoing, but for all intents and purposes already finds him guilty of a contravention.”Steffen noted that “it is never good news when an editor is suspended from duty on account of having expressed his concerns, no matter the issue at hand – he did so after all while under the impression that he was the managing editor, who would normally have no need to consult with anybody when writing an editorial or opinion piece."

EFN turns to media ombudsman over New Era suspension

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Namibian Sun 2026-09-01

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EFN turns to media ombudsman over New Era suspension

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Namibian Sun 2026-09-01

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