Johannesburg — "Many countries, particularly in our continent Africa, have failed to meet the standard of freedom of expression set out in international instruments, including our own African Union founding instruments. And thus in many of our jurisdictions, very little protection is available to practitioners in the field," said Naledi Pandor, Chairperson of the Nelson Mandela Foundation at the opening of the 20th African Investigative Journalism Conference taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The event held at Wits University brings together journalists and experts who will take part in panel discussions, workshops, and networking sessions to find solutions faced by investigative journalists across the continent.
“Investigative journalism is potentially the most plentiful field as it deals directly with issues of integrity and morality, the most worrying aspect is that countries that are the foundation of free expression are today the most active abusers of the craft.
“The profession has been stained by embedded journalism, runaway technology advances, by the practice of reporting that does not require training or certification, and to some degree, by the failure of the profession to form global bonds of solidarity to end harm as was done through the liberation movements when we were fighting for freedom,” Pandor said in her keynote address.
With the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in newsrooms, this year’s program includes sessions on navigating AI challenges and opportunities in the Global South. It also features themes on data journalism, cyber and crypto crime, cultural art and safety of journalists, and health investigations.
"Freedom of expression of the media, of creative artists, and academia is a highly prized right in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of South Africa. The right has the status due to the limitations on free expression that were imposed under race-based apartheid rules, South Africans were told what they could read, and scholars were denied wide reading," Pandor said.
Pandor, who was South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperations from 2019 to 2024, said during the Apartheid era media professionals had to reflect state-directed views and falsehoods, had to pretend at times that separate development was a genuine sociological phenomenon, and had to hide the facts even when they had facts in their possession.
Despite all the challenges the country continues to face in the media profession, Pandor said she assesses the media in South Africa as robust, and respected, but that it is a wading field in the face of emerging technology and arts. And this is a great concern.
Pandor said the 30-year journey of democratic transition has had for South Africans, high drama between the state, political parties, and media in all its forms, mentioning that there have been high points in which the media has been a boost for ethical conduct, and some instances of huge embarrassment on all sides.
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“I believe that common action in changing the human condition will be a means of operating for journalists of South Africa who gave up their lives in the struggle for the truth. Journalists such as Nat Nakasa, journalists such as Percy Qoboza and many others who used this craft to assist in securing freedom for oppressed peoples and in telling the truth of their oppression and their oppressors,” she said.
Every year, the AIJC holds a memorial lecture in Carlos Cardoso’s memory. Cardoso was a Mozambican journalist assassinated while investigating corruption in 2000.
Pandor said in line with the Nelson Mandela Foundation's theme of action and support of humanity, there's a task "before all of us".
She said the world is troubled and under strain, and urged Africans to see what they could contribute and what in collaboration to make to create the conditions for a better world.
“I think every profession, every institution, needs to be asking itself that question today because the strife underway is going to impact on all of us. I truly believe that what people have been saying in analysis, that this is an inflection point in our right, it's an inflection point as to the kind of global community we wish to see, and I challenge all of you to work with your colleagues worldwide, to seek truth, to convey truth, and to build a better for the future,” Pandor said.
The three-day investigative journalism event will recognize outstanding investigative journalists from the continent in an awards ceremony that recognizes their powerful and impactful work.
