Journo to apppeal court ruling

2003-11-22 15:43

Johannesburg - Former Sunday Times journalist Ranjeni Munusamy would on Monday appeal against a Bloemfontein High Court ruling which compels her to testify before the Hefer Commission.

Her appeal would be filed at the Constitutional Court, said Jude Mathurine, an advocacy officer at the Media Institute of Southern Africa.

He said his organisation, the SA National Editors Forum (Sanef), the Freedom of Expression Institute and the Media Workers Association of SA would act as friends of the court if leave to appeal was granted.

"It is about Ranjeni but more important it is about (defending journalistic) principles, " said Henry Jeffreys, the chairman of Sanef.

Munusamy passed on to City Press information which claimed that Bulelani Ngcuka, the head of the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions, spied for the apartheid government.

President Thabo Mbeki created the commission, and appointed retired Judge Joos Hefer as its chairman.

The task of the commission is to investigate whether Ngcuka was indeed a spy and, as a result of his obligations to the apartheid regime, was abusing his office by settling scores with former opponents.

Hefer ruled that Munusamy should testify, but could object to answering questions. She should, however, motivate her objections. The Bloemfontein High Court upheld Hefer's ruling.

Editors Mondli Makhanya, Joe Thloloe and Mathatha Tsedu were also either subpoenaed or invited to appear before the commission.

Tsedu, Makhanya and Jimmy Seepe, the political editor of the City Press, have indicated that they would not testify at the commission.

Former City Press editor Vusi Mona has agreed to testify and is scheduled to do so on Wednesday.

The editors attended a confidential "off-the-record" briefing with Ngcuka late in July.

It was afterwards reported that he had allegedly defamed some third parties at that meeting and had made racially derogatory remarks about South African Indians.

Mathurine was speaking at a Sanef council meeting in Johannesburg on Saturday.

- SAPA