In May 2016, SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng issued a directive banning the broadcast of violent service delivery protest footage — the "sunshine journalism" policy in action. Eight journalists who protested this censorship were fired or suspended in July 2016:
1. Foeta Krige (RSG executive editor) 2. Suna Venter (senior journalist) 3. Krivani Pillay (SAfm current affairs executive producer) 4. Jacques Steenkamp (senior investigative journalist) 5. Thandeka Gqubule (SABC economics editor) 6. Busisiwe Ntuli (Special Assignment executive producer) 7. Lukhanyo Calata (SABC parliamentary correspondent) 8. One contracted freelance journalist
The Labour Court ruled their dismissals unlawful and ordered reinstatement in July 2016.
But the legal victory did not end their suffering. Following their suspension, the journalists were subjected to death threats, home break-ins, and sustained intimidation campaigns designed to pressure them into dropping a Constitutional Court case against the SABC.
On 29 June 2017, SABC 8 journalist Suna Venter died aged 32 from stress-induced cardiomyopathy — medically known as "Broken Heart Syndrome." The condition is caused by extreme emotional stress. Venter had endured months of intimidation, including death threats and break-ins at her home.
The SABC 8 case became a landmark for press freedom in South Africa and a symbol of the human cost of state capture. RSF's 2025 World Press Freedom Index noted South Africa's 46-place fall on the security indicator, citing a "worrying trend of harassment and intimidation of journalists."