A complaint from a member of the public concerning the broadcast of a skit featuring the characters 
Mr Nelson Mandela and his wife Graca Machel was received by the Registrar. The matter was referred to the SABC for a response and thereafter the matter was the subject of a hearing. As a starting point the Broadcasting Code does not protect the right which a person has to his or her image. We, accordingly, do not express a view as to whether the image of the Mandelas was invaded upon. A person, whose image has been invaded upon unlawfully, may take the matter to the courts and obtain an interdict and if it led to damages, also claim damages. The first question is whether the right to privacy has been invaded upon. Has the skit in fact disclosed anything about the private lives, the “intimate personal sphere”, of the Mandelas? We believe that this has not happened. Nothing is revealed that is not in any case well known. It is true that the skit has the “bedroom” of the Mandelas as background and that it repeats what is well known: that Mr Mandela gets up particularly early. The voice is also the typical Nelson Mandela voice. We agree that the skit would evoke feelings of discomfort for some viewers. Mr Khaas is one of them. However, within the Broadcasting Code there is no contravention. This conclusion is, of course, no guarantee that all future broadcasts of this kind of skit would lead to similar decisions. Each case would have to be decided on its own merits.
The Complaint is not upheld.