(FXI/IFEX) – The Directorate of Special Operations in South Africa has subpoenaed photographic journalist Benny Gool to testify in court on 14 May 2001 in the murder trial of Hard Livings gang leader Rashaad Staggie in Cape Town. Gool was present at the murder, and took pictures that have since been widely published. In 1998, […]
(FXI/IFEX) – The Directorate of Special Operations in South Africa has subpoenaed photographic journalist Benny Gool to testify in court on 14 May 2001 in the murder trial of Hard Livings gang leader Rashaad Staggie in Cape Town. Gool was present at the murder, and took pictures that have since been widely published.
In 1998, editors of the Cape Times, Reuters News Agency, Cape Argus, Associated Press, Die Burger, South Africa Press Association, and the South African Broadcasting Corporation were subpoenaed to hand over to the court photographs, video footage, and transcript pertaining to meetings, gatherings, and demonstrations of People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD) before the public killing of Staggie.
Staggie was killed on August 6 1996 allegedly by the valiant group PAGAD who were determined to clean the street of Cape Town of drugs and crime.
The issuing of the subpoena of Gool flies in the face of a free press. Firstly, it violates the agreement reached with the South African National Editorsâ Forum, the Department of Justice and the Department of Safety and Security, which stipulates that no more subpoenas would be issued against journalists without prior consultation.
However, what is even more disturbing is that the issuing of the subpoena literally places Goolâs life in danger. So far, at least seven state witnesses against anti-drug vigilantes have been murdered since May 1998, leading to other witnesses changing their minds about testifying. One key witness, Zaid Abrahams, was murdered after leaving the witness protection programme, while two other witnesses were murdered while under witness protection. For the Directorate to have issued this subpoena under these conditions is reckless in the extreme, as it jeopardises Goolâs safety, and by extension calls into question the safety of other journalists reporting on vigilante activity in the Western Cape.
