Media groups slam newspaper gagging order

Media rights groups have expressed concern over a court order gagging one of South Africa's leading investigative newspapers, saying the ruling set an "extraordinarily dangerous precedent".

Hours before the Mail & Guardian (M&G) was scheduled to go to press on Thursday evening, the Johannesburg High Court barred it from running a follow-up to the previous week's expose alleging that the state-owned oil company, PetroSA, had channelled R11 million (US $1.6 million) of taxpayers' money to the ruling African National Congress (ANC) ahead of the 2004 elections.

The report claimed that PetroSA paid the money to Imvume, an oil firm with close ties to the ANC, ostensibly to purchase oil. Instead, Imvume allegedly gave the money to the ANC election campaign fund in December 2003.

Imvume argued in court that the newspaper had obtained information illegally, infringing the company's constitutional right to privacy and dignity.

The Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA) said it was deeply concerned that the High Court judgment "may open the way for others seeking to prevent newspapers from publishing articles about their questionable or irregular conduct".

Raymond Louw, deputy chairman of MISA South Africa, said in a statement that the court order could lead to "legal censorship of the media".

"In this instance, where a state company and a private company were using taxpayers' money, dealing in state property, and bolstering the fortunes of a public political party, it is contended that Imvume's claim to privacy is minimal, yet the court has elevated it above that of clear public interest and press freedom," the statement noted.

The ANC denied the allegations and has reportedly threatened legal action against two more newspapers, Business Day and Sunday Times, in connection with the story dubbed "Oilgate".

According to a statement by the M&G, the court order was the first time the weekly had been muzzled since the apartheid government banned it under emergency regulations in the late 1980s.