Karima Brown

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Karima Brown
Karima Brown.png
Brown in an undated photo
Born1967
Cape Town, Cape Province, South Africa
Died (aged 54)
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
NationalitySouth African citizenship
EducationSalt River High School
Alma materUniversity of the Western Cape
Occupation
  • Journalist
  • television presenter
  • radio personality
  • political analyst
  • anti-apartheid activist
Political partyAfrican National Congress
ChildrenMikhail Brown
(son)

Karima Brown (1967 – 4 March 2021) was a South African journalist. She worked in a variety of positions, being the political editor for national daily magazine Business Day and launching Forbes Women Africa. She was also known for a court case she took against the Economic Freedom Fighters.

Early life and education[]

Born in Cape Town and educated at Salt River High School,[1] Brown was the daughter of Achmat Semaar, a community leader in Mitchell's Plain and an ANC activist.[2] She followed him into political activism joining the Cape Youth Congress and the South African Students Congress while studying at the University of the Western Cape.[3] She was later a member of the United Democratic Front.[4]

Career[]

During her career as a respected South African journalist, she served as Business Day's political editor, presented the Karima Brown show on Radio 702, was group executive editor at Independent Newspapers and launched Forbes Women Africa. Shortly prior to her death, she hosted a current affairs show on eNCA called The Fix.

As a member of the ANC, as well as a journalist, she occasionally attracted controversy.[2] In October 2006 an internal commission at the SABC agreed with veteran journalist John Perlman that the broadcasting corporation had an arbitrary blacklist of political commentators. The commission of inquiry, headed by Zwelakhe Sisulu and Gilbert Marcus, found that Brown had been blacklisted alongside Aubrey Matshiqi, William Gumede, Paula Slier, Sipho Seepe, Moeletsi Mbeki, Elinor Sisulu, and Trevor Ncube.[5] In 2019 she won a court case against the Economic Freedom Fighters, suing after she received threatening messages when Julius Malema published her cellphone number on social media.[4] The Johannesburg High Court found that the party contravened the electoral code and Brown welcomed the ruling as a “victory for media freedom, a victory against sexism, and [a] victory for women in journalism and protection and freedom of the media”.[6]

Death[]

She died from COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa on 4 March 2021 at the age of 54 and she was buried on the same day according to Islamic religion.[7] The South African government paid tribute to her saying that "her contribution to the journalistic profession and fearlessness in carrying out her job will sorely be missed."[4]

References[]

  1. ^ "Cape Town mourns losing one of her own". capetownetc. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b Davis, Rebecca. "Karima Brown, tiger of SA journalism, dies of Covid-19". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  3. ^ Balfour, Yonga. "From Shame To Acceptance: A Story Of Food, Politics And Religion". Mosadi Online. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Magome, Mogomotsi. "Tributes pour in after prominent South African journalist Karima Brown dies of COVID-19". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  5. ^ Haffajee, Ferial (13 October 2006). "Inside the SABC blacklist report". Mail & Guardian. Archived from the original on 2012-04-18. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  6. ^ Boswell, Barbara (10 September 2020). "EFF on a collision course with dissident black women". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  7. ^ de Villiers, James. "Karima Brown: 'A fearless commitment to having necessary conversations'". News24.com. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
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