Black S.A. journalist dismissed

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33857, 31 May 1975, Page 16

Black S.A. journalist dismissed

A prominent black South African journalist who recently pleaded for a continuation of sporting ties between his country and New Zealand has been dismissed by his Johannesburg newspaper, the “World.”

Mr Leslie Sehume, a member of the Committee for Fairness in Sport, was dismissed from his post of sports editor after a visit to New Zealand last month.

Black sportsmen and journalists have repeatedly attacked him for the views he expressed in New Zealand and Britain, saying that he had no brief to speak for them. The editorial director of the . “World” (Mr Charles Still) said: “We don’t like our staff getting involved in outside matters.” The “World” was not happy about the way things’ had gone in Britain, particularly Mr Sehume’s television confrontation with Mr Peter Hain, who is campaigning against South African sportsmen visiting Britain.

“We told Mr Sehume that we were later approached to allow him to go to Japan on a similar. campaign; but we told him we did ijpt want him to go round the world campaigning, because we wanted him to do his job as a journalist,” Mr Still said.

Mr Sehume had made no mention of his New Zealand and Australian trip. “The first we knew about it was a

cablegram asking us whether the Mr Leslie Sehume in Australia was our. Mr Sehume,” Mr Still said. “When he returned, he was dismissed.”

Mr Gert Wolmarans, who accompanied Mr Sehume to New Zealand, said that he was shocked at the “World’s” action. Mr Sehume, he said, viewed sport as- a means of “building bridges,” and was working towards integration on the sports field. Mr Sehume, who worked for the “World” for 16 years, said he was shocked by the newspaper’s stand against his convictions. “I have always been a marked man,” he said. “As much asI know, the newspaper li 'worked for was only black! in name, but white-owned I and white-controlled. “I never for one moment thought I was a robot and a puppet to boot,” Mr Sehume said that as far as he was concerned, his activities were in complete agreement with what the “World” believed in. In New Zealand, the chairman of the Halt All Racist Tours movement (Mr M. Law) said that Mr Sehume’s dismissal meant that black South Africans had given a resounding vote of confidence to the international campaign to end sporting contacts with South Africa. The ease with which Mr Sehume had obtained travel documents, compared jwith the difficulties faced by ! non-racial black sportsmen, ihad vindicated H.A.R.T.’s I view that he was merely a

propagandist for the South African Government. Mr Sehume had ■ been brought to New Zealand by elements of Right-wing political movements and proapartheid organisations for an election-year propaganda campaign.

“Many of the people involved in this campaign have links with the National Party, and several of the more extreme groups involved claim support from National members of Parliament,” said Mr Law.