Foolish And Stupid: Redi Refuses To Back Down As Fight With EFF Boss Turns Nasty

Journalist Redi has fired back at EFF deputy president Godrich Gardee, rejecting his criticism of her question and insisting that a politician does not decide the angle or timing of a journalist’s work. Her response, shared publicly, defends the principle that reporters must ask questions that serve the public interest rather than the convenience of the person being questioned.

Redi argued that the right moment to put a question is when the subject is in front of the reporter, and that a journalist is under no obligation to confine questions to the theme of an event organised by a politician. In her view, the duty of a reporter is to ask what the audience considers important, even if the question departs from the message a party wants to deliver. She also questioned the notion of a “sense of occasion” as a standard for reporting, asking where such a principle is taught in journalism training, and rejected the suggestion that her questioning reflected a personal agenda.

The exchange reflects a long-running debate in South Africa about the boundaries between politicians and the press. Journalists in the country operate under a Constitution that protects freedom of expression and media freedom, and industry codes, including the Press Council’s Code of Ethics and Conduct, call for accuracy, fairness and the right of reply. Those standards generally require reporters to be fair and to give subjects a genuine chance to respond, but they do not require questions to be pre-approved or confined to a party’s chosen themes.

Politicians often feel that questions asked at party events or in fast-moving settings are unfair or staged, and some argue that the press is more interested in provoking conflict than in explaining policy. Journalists, for their part, point out that accountability often happens in exactly these unscripted moments, when a politician is caught between a prepared message and a difficult question. Public interest, in their view, is measured by what voters need to know, particularly in the run-up to local government elections, when decisions on water, housing, safety and municipal finances affect ordinary people directly.

The row also carries a political edge. The EFF has built much of its identity on confrontational politics and has often attacked journalists and outlets it considers hostile. For supporters, such language may show loyalty and a refusal to be intimidated. For critics, the tone risks drawing attention away from the substance of the issues being raised. Whether the exchange deepens distrust between the party and the media, or simply fades as the campaign moves on, will depend on whether either side returns to the questions voters care about most.

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