Jacob Zuma’s decision to privately prosecute specialist legal writer Karyn Maughan is an “abuse of power” designed the intimidate Maughan and other journalists working on the story.
That’s the word from chairman of the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef), Sbu Ngalwa. The forum issued a statement following news that Zuma had issued criminal summons against the reporter and prosecutor, Billy Downer. They are due in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court on 10 October.
News24 editor in chief, Adriaan Basson, said: “They want to silence Karyn, which we will not allow. The support from colleagues in the industry has been great. It is an important moment to unite as journalists and stand up for our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms.”
In a statement, SANEF said it “unequivocally supports News24 as they seek to defend any legal action that will be instituted against Maughan. This latest move by Zuma’s legal team should be condemned, and viewed as intimidation not only towards Maughan, but other journalists as well.
“As this is a clear attack on media freedom, SANEF intends to fully support News24 and is considering joining the case as amicus curiae”.
The organisation also called out Zuma’s daughter, Dudu Zuma-Sambudla, for a “disheartening tweet which appears to incite violence against Maughan”.
Meanwhile, Basson penned a column in which he laid out the facts of the case, which broken down, are quite simple. Zuma’s legal team believes News24 and Maughan published a story based on illegally leaked papers regarding the former president’s health. Zuma had been sentenced to 15 months in jail for contempt of court. The papers in question were a matter of public record and not confidential.
Basson clarified how it rolled out in his column: “On 9 August, a day before the hearing, Maughan inquired from advocate Andrew Breitenbach, who represented the State in the application, whether either side has filed court papers on which she could report.
“Breitenbach sent her an unsigned copy of Downer’s affidavit concerning the application for a postponement on the express condition that she only reports on the document once it was filed with the court. Maughan agreed.”
And he added: “I want to pause here: it is entirely uncontroversial for a lawyer to provide a journalist with court papers. Zuma’s own lawyers have done so in the past. Court papers are public documents and once they are filed at court, any member of the public has the right to inspect them.”
