provision of a judge and the also the Inspector General on Intelligence, would infringe on privacy rights and that the Bill did not provide clear explanations on the nature, approach, duration and circumstances of the intelligence gathering, raising fears that this could be abused for political ends and for suppressing media freedom. Nkgadima appeared at the Praktiseer Magistrate Court on 27 December 2023, without legal representation and was denied bail. He was released on R1000 bail on 29 December 2023. Such cases highlight the increasing personal harm journalists face in the line of duty and the disregard for the media’s role in community affairs and development issues. Risk and challenges for community-based media These cases also highlight the limited resources and support mechanisms for community-based media and journalists, often reporting from the margins. While there is significant coverage of issues faced by journalists of mainstream and national media organisations, the plight of communitybased journalists, especially in small towns, periurban and rural areas, hardly makes headlines, and this can further entrench marginalisation. In the broader context of dwindling revenue streams for the media, community-based media are usually at the frontlines of this existential threat, and such challenges, as highlighted above, create a case of double marginalisation and anxieties. In March 2023, an Eastern Cape-based reporter for the Daily Dispatch received death threats via an anonymous phone call warning him to be careful with his investigative reporting or risk being shot. In some instances, given the geographical sizes of small towns and rural areas, journalists’ personal lives are often exposed, making it very easy to monitor their activities and movements, including where they live, who their families are and who they are even if stories are pseudonymised for safety reasons. SANEF stated that they believed the threats to be related to the assassination of Mboneni Vesele, who was a protector to the University of Fort Hare vice-chancellor Sakhela Buhlungu. Access to information Daily Dispatch took immediate action to ensure the safety of the journalists and brought the matter before law-enforcement authorities. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) denied amaBhungane and the Financial Mail access to former President Zuma after they requested the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) on the basis that there was evidence of non-compliance and there was sufficient public interest to make the returns public. In November 2023, Mpuma Kapa TV reporter Jessica Bobo and camera operator Sbu Maingo were physically assaulted while covering a story about the alleged hijacking of RDP houses for a news bulletin in Walmer, Eastern Cape. Maingo sustained injuries to his face, ribs, and neck. Newcastle Advertiser journalist Estella Naicker was harassed by the mayor, deputy mayor and their bodyguards, who accused her of being paid by the ANC to write negatively about them. The media houses first submitted the request to SARS in 2019. After protracted litigation, the Constitutional Court ruled that excluding tax records from the PAIA was unconstitutional and that Parliament should rectify sections of the Tax Administration Act and PAIA to include a “public interest override”. They forced her to delete any images of the scene on her phone, and when her colleagues came to assist her, they were blocked by the councillors’ bodyguards. In an updated request for information, amaBhungane and the Financial Mail also asked for documentation that shows how SARS engaged with the ex-president’s tax affairs and other entities, such as law enforcement, regarding any matters arising. Freelance journalist Thomo Nkgadima was arrested on 24 December 2023 and charged with intimidation and trespassing after taking pictures of the mayor’s house in Praktiseer, Limpopo, in connection with a story he was reporting on concerning illegal electricity connections in the area. STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA 2023 SARS stated that some of the requested documents did not exist, could not be found or could not be released as they were subject to ongoing court cases. 74