(FXI/IFEX) – The following is a 21 September 2006 FXI media release: Media Release: FXI welcomes court ruling on attempted gagging of M&G The Freedom of Expression Institute welcomes the decision of the Johannesburg High Court a few hours ago, giving the Mail & Guardian the go-ahead to publish an article on allegations of possible […]
(FXI/IFEX) – The following is a 21 September 2006 FXI media release:
Media Release: FXI welcomes court ruling on attempted gagging of M&G
The Freedom of Expression Institute welcomes the decision of the Johannesburg High Court a few hours ago, giving the Mail & Guardian the go-ahead to publish an article on allegations of possible fraud, violations of tender rules, and contraventions of the Public Finance Management Act that had occurred in the South African Post Office.
Maanda Manyatshe, former chief executive officer of the South African Post Office (Sapo) and current head of MTN South Africa, applied last week for an interdict to prevent the M&G from publishing the article which referred to the period that he had been head of Sapo.
Today, Judge Suretta Snyders dismissed, with costs, Manyatshe’s application for an urgent interdict against the paper to prevent it from publishing the article. Using the well-worn arguments of those wishing to gag the media, Manyatshe’s legal team had argued that the M&G’s right to free speech was trumped by his rights to privacy, dignity and reputation. In a noteworthy comment on media freedom, the judge ruled than, in fact, not only did the media have a right to publish, but that it had a constitutional duty to assist in uncovering wrongdoing and bringing it to the attention of the public. She was persuaded, she said, of the “reasonableness” of publishing the article.
The ruling should be a lesson for powerful institutions in South Africa, which have discovered that it is extremely easy to obtain interdicts against the media, in the wake of the interdicts granted against the Mail and Guardian in its expose on the controversial “Oilgate” matter, and against various Sunday newspapers to stop them from publishing the Danish cartoons before they had even decided to do so.
Interdicts have become simply too easy to obtain against the media, and the urgent nature of the matter means that the issues and arguments often cannot be aired properly until the return date. We have become concerned by the seeming trend that judges assume that the applicants in these matters must have a valid case and they thus look favourably on the applicant’s applications, at the expense of the rights of free expression of South Africans. It is an unhealthy and worrying trend, and we are pleased that Judge Snyders has bucked it.
Often, when the interim interdict is granted – even if for a brief period, this is sufficient to stifle the newspaper. Usually, by the return date the matter is not news anymore. This is what applicants bank on; they attempt to gag newspapers when the news is fresh, because that is when the most damage will be done to the free flow of information. Once a story is old, it runs the risk of dying.
Newspapers need to be able to make editorial decisions to publish when news is breaking. It is unacceptable for judges to usurp the editorial freedom of editors to decide. Such interim interdicts amount to pre-publication censorship. Another worrying aspect of recent applications for interdicts – including the one by Manyatshe – is that it highlights the increasing intolerance of public institutions which would rather stifle public debate about allegations of corruption than debate them in the full glare of the public spotlight. It does not bode well for our hope of a transparent public service and the institution concerned gives the impression that it has something to hide and that it is right for it to be able to hide it.
It is a pity that Judge Jajbhay did not rule last week as Judge Snyders did today. He, instead, granted an interim order gagging the Mail & Guardian on the basis of a technicality. For a newspaper, even a delay of a few days, means incurring huge costs in financial and human resources and in the reputation it enjoys in society.
