Johannesburg High Court
11 May 2007
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sibusiso Ndebele has welcomed the decision of the
Johannesburg High Court to award more than R360 000 in damages against City
Press relating to an article published by the Sunday Newspaper in 2005.
In a hard hitting 19 page judgment delivered on Friday, Judge ZLL Tshiqi
found no justification for publishing the article on the front page of City
Press in November 2005 on Premier Ndebele and Minister of Defence Mosioua
Lekota. Judge Tshiqi described the article as "false", "inaccurate", "a
misrepresentation", "sensational" and "defamatory" and had impaired the dignity
of the two politicians. The judge also found that the apology which came a year
later was insufficient as a remedy on the part of City Press.
The judge award R150 000 to Minister Lekota and R112 500 to Premier Ndebele
and City Press was ordered to pay the legal costs.
In his reaction to the judgment Premier Ndebele said: "We have been
vindicated in our bid to clear our names of the spurious allegations made by
City Press. Importantly this victory returns our dignity as politicians and
individuals whom City Press violated for no reason other than commercial gain
which comes with sensational journalism," the Premier said.
The Premier said this was a victory for media freedom: "This is also a
warning to other members of the media that inaccuracies, vendettas and naked
sensationalism cannot justify impairing the dignity of human beings whether
they are public figures or not. I have spent 35 years in the African National
Congress (ANC) and built lasting friendships and earned the trust of my
comrades. This cannot be abused at will by members of the media under the guise
of media freedom and expression," said the Premier.
"The only way we can advance media freedom is by calling on journalists to
uphold the basic requirements of their own profession: fairness, accuracy,
objectivity and a willingness to redress in an open and honest manner the
wrongs which may occur from time to time," the Premier said.
Enquiries:
Mandla Msomi
Cell: 082 317 3727
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
11 May 2007
Source: SAPA
