Jamming cellphones in Parliament like it happened last week during the joint sitting of the South African Parliament will be a thing of the past. That is if the South African National Editors Forum, which represents media houses in the country, has its way. On Monday, SANEF said it will apply urgently seeking a court interdict preventing security agencies from jamming cell phones again in Parliament.

Last Thursday,cellphones of those who attended the joint sitting where jammed.The blame for this was put squarely on the feet of the country’s security agencies allegedly used by the government. It is understood the government allegedly wanted reporters not to communicate with the outside world in anticipation of fight with Economic Freedom Fighters(EFF). This happened shortly before President Jacob Zuma delivered his eighth State of The Nation Address (SONA).

“We will approach the courts to prevent any future attempts by state security agencies from unlawfully blocking communication signals aimed at interfering with journalists’ constitutionally protected rights and freedoms,” Sanef was quoted as saying after a council meeting in Cape Town at the weekend.

SANEF would call on the courts to force Parliament to allow broadcast media to install their own cameras in the legislature.

Mpumelelo Mkhabela, the SANEF chairman, was reported as saying the signal blackout should therefore not be seen merely as a sign of tension between government and the media, but rather as a sad commentary on the state of South Africa’s democracy.

“This is a sign that the quality of our democracy could be in decline,”adding the SANEF move is in terms of the Constitution.

“We think it is a winnable case because the constitutional principles are very clear. The principles of openness, of transparency, of accountability are the principles that are entrenched in the Constitution and Parliament is enjoined by the Constitution to observe those principles,” Mkhabela said.