The South African Communist Party says it unequivocally condemns “intimidation‚ trolling or online harassment of journalists‚ including on but not limited to their social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook”.

The party also condemned any form of incitement and threat of physical or non-physical harm against journalists.

“This unacceptable and anti-intellectual conduct resurfaced recently outside the commission of inquiry investigating the corruption of state capture‚ and has since been relentlessly pursued in various forms. “It is part and parcel of the demagogic mobilisation unleashed among others against Pravin Gordhan‚ the minister of public enterprises who was testifying against the corruption of state capture at the commission‚” the SACP said in a statement on Saturday.

“The corruption left key public entities bankrupt or insolvent‚ and drove our state to the brink of financial collapse. Gordhan is leading the national executive effort to uproot the corruption in state owned enterprises‚” the party added. It reaffirmed its “unwavering” support for a free press.

“The list of the media practitioners who have recently been isolated‚ intimidated and/or threatened exposes the nasty fightback‚ which is pursued under the guise of the so-called ‘superior logic’‚ as also racist‚ chauvinist and sexist.

“The SACP urges South Africans to unite against the regressive tendency‚ close ranks and defend‚ advance and deepen transformation to achieve our national vision of a non-racial‚ non-sexist and prosperous society.”