WeeklySA_AdminORDER: Failure to remove personal social media tweets targeting National Council of Arts lands SARA president in hot water….
By Ali Mphaki
The president of the South African Roadies Association, SARA, Freddie Nyathela has welcomed the High Court judgement which found him on the wrong side of the law by failing to delete several social media tweets aimed at the National Arts Counci, NAC, as per a court order.
The matter is a sequel to a previous judgement on September 20, 2018, when the court ruled “[Mr. Nyathela & SARA] are interdicted from making, publishing, causing to be published, retweeting, commenting on Facebook or Twitter, or disseminating any defamatory statements concerning the [NAC], including the same or similar statements as those forming the subject matter of this application (within 10 days)”.
Despite the above court ruling Nyathela deleted these after 10 days which led to the matter being taken to the High Court of South Africa.
The matter was heard at the High Court of South Africa, Johannesburg on 24 April 24 2023 with Judge ML Senyatsi declaring Nyathela to be in contempt of the first court order which was issued on 20 September 2018. The High Court has issued a sentence of 30 days imprisonment for Nyathela and he was also ordered to pay all the legal costs incurred during the application of the matter.
In his court papers Nyathela did not deny that he failed to comply with the order but that the NAC had not impugned the social media statements.
Nyathela also argued that since Marion Mbina-Mthembu was no longer CEO of the NAC she was not authorised to file an affidavit in the contempt of court proceedings. He had further argued that a State entity or juristic person such as the NAC can never be defamed.
Judge Senyatsi however said Nyathela’s point of arguments were not sufficient enough to defeat the contempt of court proceedings. “There is sufficent evidence before me to suggest the defiance of the court order was done with the wilful intention to undermine the court’s authority,” said Senyatsi.
Nyathela was subsequently sentenced to 30 days imprisonment suspended on condition he complies with the 2018 court order. He was also ordered to pay the costs of the application on a scale between attorney and own client. In his response to the sentence Nyathela said both he and SARA “respect and accept thejudgement” but have reservations about Senyatsi’s comment that the defiance of the initial court order was done with “wilful” intention to undermine the court’s authority.
Nyathela lambasted the NAC statement released shortly after the judgement which in his view was “fake” news as it conflated issues.
Part of the NAC statement read:
“We are confident that this High Court ruling will serve as a reminder and deterrent to similar perpetrators that there are serious consequences for persons that slander, libel, distribute and publish false, unverified and defmatory information about others and/or organisations”.
This is despite Senyatsi’s judgement that in the previous order the High court never dealt with the question of defamation, a matter he regarded as “irrelevant” in contempt of court proceedings.
The Creatives Congress Movement, CCM, also weighed in on the matter and said they believe “there is little to nothing that can be said to dignify the intimidation tactics of the NAC statement directed to the arts industry organisations and practitioners”.
“The intimidations must be treated as clownish…,” reads a CCM statement.
Stop of illegal mining – Portfolio Committee
TO PLAGUE: Gauteng community calls complete eradication of illegal mining after gas accident claims 17 lives…
By WSAM Reporter
ILLEGAL MINING
– PORTFOLIO
COMMITTEE
The Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Community Safety has called for a total eradication of illegal mining that remains an enormous problem in the province.
This follows the tragic loss of innocent lives at the Angelo Informal Settlement, in Boksburg, due to a gas accident which occurred on Wednesday night, claiming the lives of 17 residents of the squatter camp.
In a statement, the Committee noted allegations that the gas cylinder that caused this catastrophic incident was part of an illegal mining operation carried out by zama-zamas in the area.
“We are saddened by these events. Over the years, Gauteng has recorded countless deaths of innocent residents as a result of illegal mining activity that occasionally springs up in different parts of the province.
“The Committee calls on law enforcement agencies to setup dedicated and special units that will see the complete eradication of illegal mining activity in the province,” Committee Chairperson, Bandile Masuku, said.
He said the province has over the years witnessed the “senseless loss of innocent lives” at the hands of illegal miners and “now calls for law enforcement agencies to develop dedicated and specialised units that will see the complete eradication of illegal mining in Gauteng”.
He said, “The committee calls on community members of the Angelo informal settlement and all other citizens to refrain from engaging in this unsafe and illegal mining.”
Masuku said the committee called on the private security industry and community policing forums to continue working with the police to fight illegal mining.
President Cyril Ramaphosa in a statement also expressed his condolences to the families of those affected. Also passing his condolences, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said support will be given to families of those affected and the surrounding community where the incident took place.
