An image at the 2018 Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards which features a picture of EFF leadership and the words "abusers of democracy" | Image: Facebook
An image posted by a guest at the 2018 Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards has landed network provider Vodacom in hot water after they were accused of taking a stance against the EFF.
While most Twitter users who saw the image were quick to condemn Vodacom, others were more open to finding out the context surrounding the display of the image before judging.
A Vodacom spokesperson confirmed to the Citizen that the image was shown as part of a keynote address delivered by Corruption Watch chairperson Mavuso Msimang at the awards ceremony.
“Vodacom believes in freedom of expression and would not censor Mr Msimang’s views; or those of other opinion makers. Vodacom is against discrimination and bigotry in all their manifestations, including race, age, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and political thought,” added the spokesperson.
Many were disappointed by the brevity of the statement and EFF supporters vowed to port their numbers to other networks or to take other action against Vodacom.
Save for a retweet of one of the original tweets posted last night and the following tweet from EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, the EFF has yet to formally address the matter.
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