Africa-Press – South-Africa. The SA National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) has condemned attempts by the Moti Group to prevent the publication of articles exposing businessman Zunaid Moti’s allegedly corrupt dealings.
The group approached the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday for an urgent interdict and demanded the immediate return of thousands of “leaked” documents from amaBhungane investigative journalists.
AmaBhungane reported that its investigative team was unaware of the application until Judge John Holland-Muter made a ruling on Thursday.
The court gave amaBhungane and its journalists 48 hours to return “leaked” documents belonging to the Moti Group. It also prevented the journalists from publishing any new articles based on the documents until October, when they could plead their case.
But Sanef believes the order violated journalists’ rights to report on matters of public interest.
“Sanef will closely monitor this matter, which cannot be left unchallenged because of the implications it may have on the work journalists do. The accusation by the Moti Group that the said papers were illegally obtained cannot be left unchallenged,” the forum said.
It added: “To say the least, the interdiction to stop amaBhungane from publishing any story is not only unreasonable but tramples on the right of journalists to do their work and the public’s right to know.”
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