News24 journalist Karyn Maughan’s triumph yesterday against former president Jacob Zuma’s attempts for her private prosecution in the Pietermaritzburg high court is a major victory for press freedom.
This is because it is fundamental for the freedom of the press that the work of journalists is not criminalised by creating legal precedents of vulnerability when information is published in the public interest.
In Zuma’s matter, however, this was a clear-cut case of abuse of process, which the court has now correctly confirmed in its judgment yesterday.
Zuma claimed Maughan published his confidential medical records which he alleged were leaked to her by the lead prosecutor in his corruption trial, Adv Billy Downer. Zuma further alleged that the pair were in breach of the NPA Act and that they violated his rights and harmed his dignity.
The document Zuma was referring to is a letter from his medical doctor supporting his request to postpone his corruption trial at the time on the grounds of being ill. From the onset it was never in doubt that the publication of the contents of the letter was in the public interest.
What has been disturbing and dangerous throughout this battle is the former president subjecting a journalist to a barrage of abuse, harassment and legal threats for doing her job.
The scathing judgment found that Maughan’s private prosecution constitutes a violation of the rights recognised in section 16 (1) of the Constitution – the right to freedom of expression, which includes the right to freedom of the press and other media.
It further found that Maughan’s private prosecution together with Downer's “constitutes an abuse of process as it has been instituted for an ulterior purpose…”
But this wasn’t the first time Zuma attempted to subject media and journalists to adverse treatment for seeking to hold him to account.
In the run-up to his presidency he threatened lawsuits against several media houses for reporting on allegations of corruption and wrongdoing against him. None of those came to see the light of day in our courts.
Maughan’s case sends a strong message that the judiciary will not be abused through litigious means to serve narrow interests. It should also serve as a reminder that the threat to the truth is dangerous to all of us.
SOWETAN | Maughan’s a victory for free press
Image: Darren Stewart
News24 journalist Karyn Maughan’s triumph yesterday against former president Jacob Zuma’s attempts for her private prosecution in the Pietermaritzburg high court is a major victory for press freedom.
This is because it is fundamental for the freedom of the press that the work of journalists is not criminalised by creating legal precedents of vulnerability when information is published in the public interest.
In Zuma’s matter, however, this was a clear-cut case of abuse of process, which the court has now correctly confirmed in its judgment yesterday.
Zuma claimed Maughan published his confidential medical records which he alleged were leaked to her by the lead prosecutor in his corruption trial, Adv Billy Downer. Zuma further alleged that the pair were in breach of the NPA Act and that they violated his rights and harmed his dignity.
The document Zuma was referring to is a letter from his medical doctor supporting his request to postpone his corruption trial at the time on the grounds of being ill. From the onset it was never in doubt that the publication of the contents of the letter was in the public interest.
What has been disturbing and dangerous throughout this battle is the former president subjecting a journalist to a barrage of abuse, harassment and legal threats for doing her job.
The scathing judgment found that Maughan’s private prosecution constitutes a violation of the rights recognised in section 16 (1) of the Constitution – the right to freedom of expression, which includes the right to freedom of the press and other media.
It further found that Maughan’s private prosecution together with Downer's “constitutes an abuse of process as it has been instituted for an ulterior purpose…”
But this wasn’t the first time Zuma attempted to subject media and journalists to adverse treatment for seeking to hold him to account.
In the run-up to his presidency he threatened lawsuits against several media houses for reporting on allegations of corruption and wrongdoing against him. None of those came to see the light of day in our courts.
Maughan’s case sends a strong message that the judiciary will not be abused through litigious means to serve narrow interests. It should also serve as a reminder that the threat to the truth is dangerous to all of us.
Zuma loses private prosecution pursuit against Downer and Maughan
Downer says Zuma is 'playing for time'
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