Former President Jacob Zuma and his uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party?s bid to stop the SABC from referring to the 7th administration as the Government of National Unity (GNU) has been postponed to Thursday.

POSTPONEMENT 

The matter which was filed in July as urgent was meant to be argued at the Johannesburg High Court today but had to be postponed because the SABC filed an answering affidavit overnight.

Again on Monday the SABC filed an answering affidavit and said, "The applicants have brought this application on an urgent basis. However, the applicants do not satisfy the requirements for bringing an urgent application in terms of rule 6(12) of the Uniform Rules of Court.

The application is without merit and abuse of the court process. The order the applicants seek, would violate the SABC's right to freedom of expression enshrined in section 16 of the Constitution. The application should be dismissed. There is no basis for the applicants or this Court to dictate to the SABC on how it should report on matters relating to the politics of the current majority government," said the SABC.

The court then had to grant Zuma and the MK Party time to prepare a replying affidavit. Meanwhile, Zuma and the MK Party have committed to filing their reply by midday tomorrow and the parties have agreed to file their heads of argument by 6pm tomorrow evening.

NOT GNU

Yesterday, the MK Party issued a statement and said the DA Federal Chair Helen Zille has acknowledged the coalition as a partnership between the

DA and the ANC rather than a genuine "Government of National Unity," revealing the deceptive nature of this arrangement.

"The SABC should not serve as a conduit for the Democratic Alliance and the ANC of Cyril Ramaphosa, as this misrepresentation undermines the integrity of Section 3(1a) of the Broadcasting Act 4 of 1999 and the principles outlined in the SABC Charter regarding Editorial Independence. The SABC must uphold its duty to accurately represent political alliances without serving as a mouthpiece for partisan agendas," read the statement.

MK said they remain committed to defending the editorial independence of the SABC and ensuring that the South African public is not misled by state-affiliated entities. The matter will be back in court on Thursday morning.