Claims that SABC staffers were summoned to Zuma's office

The DA's shadow minister of communications, Phumzile van Damme, says the opposition party has been ''reliably'' informed that SABC staff, including the acting head of news, met with the president.

She says the timing of the meeting is suspicious, given the delay of the SABC board appointment. 

"This summoning of SABC staff by the Presidency is highly irregular and frankly, quite suspicious. While from time-to-time, the Presidency is indeed permitted to interact with journalists from all media houses, including the SABC, such meetings occur following a process of request, not summoning, and happen at the SABC's offices. The SABC does not report to the President and cannot be 'summoned' by him or his staff," van Damme explains. 

She says the meeting was to take place at the office of the presidential spokesperson Dr Bongani Ngqulunga.

However, Ngqulunga described the DA's allegations as "nonsense".

He says the SABC is better suited to comment on the matter.

SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago would neither confirm nor deny whether a meeting had in fact taken place. 

"It is amazing that a statement like that is issued because we meet with all kinds of stakeholders, including political parties, including them as the DA. We will continue to meet all the stakeholders, including the Presidency, to discuss matters of common interest."

Kganyago says it's unclear how such meetings could be linked with the appointment of a new SABC board. 

"The SABC does not get involved in the process of appointment of the board, why would we then be consulted for such a thing? We want to reject with the contempt that it deserves that there is something sinister about meeting with our stakeholders.

"We meet all our stakeholders and if there is a meeting with the Presidency that has happened, it would have happened, because it's part of our stakeholder engagements," he adds.