South Africa’s public broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), has said Nigeria’s High Commissioner, Femi Fani-Kayode, declined an interview invitation following his complaint over the omission of his speech from a livestream of a diplomatic ceremony hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the broadcaster said it regretted the envoy’s decision but remained willing to engage with him and the Nigerian High Commission.
The response followed Fani-Kayode’s protest over the exclusion of his introduction and speech from the broadcaster’s livestream of a presentation of letters of credence ceremony held at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria on Friday.
“We regret that the High Commissioner declined an interview with SABC News, reportedly because of his dissatisfaction with the livestream of the ceremony. We respect his decision and remain open to engaging with him and the Nigerian High Commission,” the statement said.
However, the broadcaster did not directly address the allegation that Fani-Kayode’s speech was excluded from the livestream.
The SABC also rejected the description of it as a state broadcaster, insisting that it was a public service media organisation committed to independent and impartial journalism.
“Two points need clarifying. First, the SABC is a public service media, not a state broadcaster. Our mandate is to serve the public interest through independent, impartial and credible journalism. The Presidency’s livestream arrangements and SABC News’ editorial coverage are separate matters,” it said.
The broadcaster maintained that it covered the ceremony through its SABC News LIVE channel on SABC+.
It added that Fani-Kayode’s arrival was shown during a live broadcast on the SABC News Channel, DStv Channel 404.
The broadcaster also said it published a video on its official X account showing the Nigerian envoy speaking with Ramaphosa.
“The SABC remains committed to upholding the principles of fairness, impartiality and editorial independence in its coverage, as well as value our longstanding relationship with Nigeria,” the statement added.
Fani-Kayode had earlier accused the South African Presidency of deliberately excluding Nigeria’s delegation from the livestream of the ceremony, which involved 15 ambassadors presenting their letters of credence to Ramaphosa.
The former Nigerian Minister of Aviation claimed that the introductions and speeches of 14 other ambassadors were broadcast, while Nigeria’s segment was omitted.
According to him, the livestream resumed after he had completed his address.
He also confirmed that he rejected an interview invitation from SABC News at the venue because he was unhappy with the treatment of the Nigerian delegation.
However, the South African Presidency later released the full recording of the ceremony, including Fani-Kayode’s speech, on its YouTube channel.
The controversy triggered a public exchange between the Nigerian High Commission and Vincent Magwenya, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson.
Magwenya disputed Fani-Kayode’s account of the President’s intervention, saying Ramaphosa neither interfered with the broadcaster’s operations nor influenced its editorial decisions.
He said the President had directed the Nigerian envoy to the appropriate SABC official to address his complaint.
The Nigerian High Commission, however, defended Fani-Kayode, insisting that the envoy and Nigeria had been treated with contempt and that Ramaphosa had intervened.
The disagreement comes amid renewed concerns over xenophobic attacks against Nigerians and other African migrants in South Africa.
Nigeria has repeatedly raised concerns about the safety of its citizens in the country following reports of killings, harassment and attacks on foreign nationals.
In September, Nigeria’s National Assembly suspended official visits to South Africa over anti-migrant violence.
Nigerian authorities also reported that 98 citizens had died in mob or hate-related incidents in South Africa since 2022.