One of the SABC 8, Vuyo Mvoko, will be approaching the high court to put him back on the air after the broadcaster terminated its contract with him.
Mvoko said his lawyers were filing the papers on Friday morning. The application was for the court to rule that the SABC’s decision not to “schedule” him, constitutes a breach of contract.
Analyst and media personality and Eusebius McKaiser said in a Facebook post that the SABC decision not to “schedule” Mvoko is “SABC lingo for being taken off the air “.
“[This] … is their way of ensuring that, as an independent contractor, he won’t be able to get paid because he won’t be able to invoice for payments given that he is not on air currently,” McKaiser said.
Four of the eight who were fired from the broadcaster this week are challenging their dismissal in the labour court in Johannesburg on Friday afternoon.
The four are Foeta Krige, Suna Venter, Krivani Pillay and Jacques Steenkamp .
The other journalists who were notified of their dismissals this week were Thandeka Gqubule, Busisiwe Ntuli and Lukhanyo Calata.
All eight have applied for direct access to the constitutional court.
The Helen Suzman Foundation and the broadcaster reached an agreement on Wednesday which saw the high court in Pretoria interdicting the broadcaster from enacting its policy.
Communications regulator Icasa ruled on 11 July that the SABC had to withdraw its resolution, announced in May, to ban showing footage of violent protests.
Motsoeneng initially said after the ruling that no one could tell the SABC what to do and that they would challenge Icasa’s decision in court. However, in a surprise turn, Icasa said on Wednesday afternoon that the had SABC agreed to comply with the ruling.
