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Maguvhe lists his issues with Parliament’s SABC probe

South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board chairperson Professor Mbulaheni Maguvhe on Thursday said the violation of his rights as a blind person was not the only reason for his departure from Parliament’s inquiry into his fitness to hold office.

Maguvhe‚ the board’s only remaining member‚ his lawyers and other SABC officials on Wednesday walked out of the hearing in protest‚ claiming that he was being denied a fair trial because he was not catered for as a partially blind person in the proceedings.

The ad hoc committee’s chairperson Vincent Smith rubbished these claims on Thursday. He said that the SABC and other parties were contacted for requests should any kind of translation be required.

But this was not Maguvhe’s only problem with the inquiry’s business on Wednesday.

“I also wish to state that at the beginning of the hearing when members of the committee discussed the fact that I have launched an appeal and its implication on the hearing‚ some members of the committee launched scathing attacks and insults at me‚” he said in a statement.

He further claimed that Smith had told SAfm in an interview that he would only be allowed to attend the hearing as an observer‚ while he had expected to cross-examine witnesses‚ and that his lawyers were not allowed to address the committee on his behalf.

Maguvhe said that the committee‚ made up mainly of members of Parliament’s portfolio committee on communication‚ had prejudged the matter.

Maguvhe is challenging the committee’s competence to conduct the hearings in an appeal matter‚ launched on Tuesday‚ after his urgent application failed in the Western Cape High Court.

“I wish to make it clear that I am not against the inquiry proceeding. I support it. But what I want to see is Parliament respecting my rights in a way the ensures that I can access information in advance which will be used in the inquiry; that the information provided is accessible to me; that I am respected by the members of the committee; and my legal representatives be allowed to address the committee on my behalf.” – TMG Digital

 

 

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