case
30 August 2007
We have communicated the ruling of the court to the Minister who is
currently attending World Health Organisation(WHO) meeting of African Health
Ministers in Brazzaville, Congo.
Today, the court vindicated the rights of Minister Tshabalala-Msimang as
well as the rights of all South Africans to be treated with dignity and enjoy
the right to privacy.
The editor of the Sunday Times should swallow his words today. You cannot
claim to be 200% correct when you are pursuing a vendetta aimed at destroying
an individual. Every South African has a right to be treated with dignity and
the court has reaffirmed that today.
More importantly, we cannot base the freedom of the press on stolen hospital
records. We must stop the use of faceless sources to publish gossips as facts
and argue that such gossips are of public interest. Right to press freedom
comes with responsibilities.
We need to be even-handed and condemn the theft of patient records and work
with the police to ensure that culprits in this regard are brought to book. We
hope the South African Police Service (SAPS) can make progress in its
investigation of a criminal charge of theft of these records.
The Minister will in due course discuss today's court ruling with her
lawyers and decide on the best course of action. As we have said, there are
various legal options available to us with regard to this matter. After this
great victory, we will decide on the best option for us.
Issued by: Department of Health
30 August 2007
