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Mail & Guardian ungagged
The Mail & Guardian yesterday, Wednesday 21 September, won an important victory for media freedom in the Johannesburg High Court. Judge Suretta Snyders dismissed with costs an urgent interdict application brought against the paper by Maanda Manyatshe, the former Chief Executive Office of the South African Post Office (Sapo), and current head of MTN South Africa. Manyatshe last week sought to prevent the M&G from publishing a story detailing allegations of possible fraud, violations of tender rules, and contraventions of the Public Finance Management Act that took place while he was head of the SA Post Office.
Manyatshe's legal team had argued that his rights to privacy, dignity and reputation should outweigh the M&G's right to free speech.
But Snyders disagreed, ruling that the media has a constitutional duty to assist in uncovering wrongdoing and bringing it to the attention of the public.
Snyders said that the seriousness of the allegations against Manyatshe, his failure to give a proper response to the Mail & Guardian or in his version to the court, and his public stature "persuades me of the reasonableness" of publishing the exposé.
Said Mail & Guardian associate deputy editor Nic Dawes, "We are delighted with the outcome, not only because it enables us to tell a story that we think is important, but because it helps to reaffirm the constitutional role of a free media as an agent of the democratic process."
