Rehana Rossouw
THE Mail & Guardian and the Freedom of Expression Institute have instituted legal proceedings against the SANDF in an attempt to open a Cape court martial to the public.
Staff Sergeant Herman Phieffer and Corporal Desmond Booysen have been charged with alleging that their commanding officer was racist and with leaking sensitive information to a military intelligence officer.
The two, who are based at Group 31 battalion in Paarl, had been asked to help with an intelligence investigation into alleged arms smuggling in the Western Cape. A military intelligence report was declassified and used as evidence at the court martial.
It later emerged at the court martial that in an attempt to build a case against the two outspoken soldiers, the contents of the intelligence document were revealed to their commanding officer, Colonel Pat McLoughlin.
The two soldiers allegedly told the intelligence officer they believed McLoughlin did not support the integration of the SANDF and believed members of non- statutory armies were not suited to serve in the army.
The court martial began in Paarl last December and resumes on April 7. The M&G’s attorneys David Dison, Norval and Wheeldon, will appear at the court martial to apply for it to be heard in an open court and for the public to be granted access. They will also apply for public access to all documents relevant to the court martial, including the military intelligence report.
The application will be based on the provisions of the Constitution which guarantees that everyone has a right to a fair public hearing in a court or any other appropriate forum.
Should the application fail, the lawyers will consider approaching a higher court for relief, the lawyers said in a letter to the SANDF.