The Appellant was granted leave to appeal against the finding of the Commissioner in adjudication nr 37/A/2020. The initial complaint pertained to eNCA news broadcasts during April 2020 about allegations made by inmates and staff of Kutama Prison concerning insufficient supply of Personal Protective Equipment. Complaint that eNCA used information from a former employee of the prison who was dismissed in 2017; that Kutama Prison was used as the ‘face’ of Covid-19 in prisons while they had no positive cases; and that unfair, untruthful and unverified content was broadcast without obtaining any comment from the prison, which resulted in reputational damage to the prison. After considering all submissions from the Appellant and the Respondent, the Appeal Tribunal concluded that there was no malice intended by the Appellant and no intention to mislead viewers; that there was no contravention of Clause 28 of the Code because the Appellant acted in a reasonable manner to present the news in a fair manner, to verify the allegations and to obtain an opposing view in order to provide balance during very difficult circumstances. The original finding of Adjudication No: 37/A/2020 was overturned.
