Els still fighting over You 'scoop'
2010-11-18 20:11
Els takes on magazine editor in SCA
Bloemfontein - Huisgenoot and You magazine editor Esmaré Weideman wanted the "scoop" in identifying singer Robbie Klay's alleged molester in 2008 when she published an article prohibited by a court order, the Supreme Court of Appeals heard on Thursday.
The SCA was hearing an appeal by South African singer Jurie Els regarding a contempt of court application against Weideman and two others.
The Western Cape High Court in Cape Town had ruled that Weideman had not been in contempt of court when the magazines ran an article in February 2008, in which singer Robbie Klay accused a South African singer of sexual molestation.
Els has in the meantime been acquitted on charges of molesting Klay, as a child, after formal charges were brought before the high court.
Els's legal counsel Danie Dorfling told the SCA on Thursday that Weideman's actions were intentional and that she admitted she wanted to tell the story, but not use the name.
Els's name was not mentioned in the in-depth interview with Klay, but in the magazine's editorial Els was named with regard to a court attempt at stopping the publication of the article.
"Why did she not leave his name out (in the editorial)? She could have done that," Dorfling told the court.
Earlier, Els got an urgent interdict after hours in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg in an attempt to stop the publication of the article, but had to bring a proper application 10 days later.
Huisgenoot and You did not print the article as submitted to court in Johannesburg, but an edited, censored version before the 10-day period expired.
Els then brought the contempt of court application in the Western Cape High Court against Weideman.
The Cape Town court held amongst others that Els's contempt of court application should have been brought in the Johannesburg court.
It also held that Els had not proven beyond reasonable doubt that Weideman purposefully held the order in contempt.
Dorfling submitted the interdict was clear in that: "You may not publish Annexure A", which was the unedited magazine article.
Dorfling also said that by naming the singer in the editorial the magazine actually told its readers: "the blanked out spaces, you see, is Mr Els."
Weideman's legal counsel Andrew Breitenbach told the panel of three judges that the interim interdict had prohibited only "that" article (the unedited version).
"What my client did was not to publish an article attached to the Notice of Motion."
It was stripped of the name and the characteristics to identify him, said Breitenbach.
He also argued that the editorial "should speak for itself" and should not be read in conjunction with the article on another page in the magazine.
Breitenbach submitted that Els's application for an interdict was already widely published in newspapers before the magazine article appeared.
- SAPA
