Media organisations have condemned police for barring journalists from entering the courtroom where former deputy president Jacob Zuma was charged with rape.
Their actions were absurd and smacked of collusion to shield Zuma from further public embarrassment, Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) executive director Jane Duncan charged on Tuesday.
Zuma was charged with rape and released on R20 000 bail in the secret hearing in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court, pending his trial in the Johannesburg High Court on February 13.
”Zuma… was brought into the court before opening hours, through a side-door generally used by prisoners and after the area around the court was cleared by police and his bodyguards,” said the SA National Editors Forum (Sanef) also condemning the secrecy and exclusion of the media from Zuma’s appearance.
”This is blatant interference in the constitutional duties of the media to report judicial proceedings and the appearance in court of alleged offenders,” reacted an outraged South Africa Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa-SA).
Media freedom, the administration of justice and the Bill of Rights had been contravened, said Misa-SA deputy chairman Raymond Louw.
The police’s action was ”blatant interference” with the media’s duty to report on judicial proceedings, he added.
”Quite clearly favour was shown to Zuma and court officials interfered with the functioning of the courts — which are required to function in public unless there are special circumstances which did not apply in this case,” Louw said.
The FXI’s Duncan said police were in dereliction of their duty when they allowed Zuma’s bodyguards to manhandle The Star’s photographer.
The decision to close the court lay with the magistrate, not the police, she said, adding that Johannesburg police area commissioner Oswald Reddy had abused his authority and showed contempt for media freedom.
”It was not the role of area commissioner Reddy to usurp the magistrate’s powers to decide whether to close the court.
”The police and the area commissioner abused their positions of authority to prevent the media’s right to report on the proceedings freely and without interference.”
Police refused to explain why they barred journalists from attending open courtroom proceedings.
”I’ve got no comment on the matter,” said commissioner Oswald Reddy who was at court on Tuesday morning.
He was quoted in The Star as saying: ”This is highly confidential (the court proceedings), no one is allowed in.”
Gauteng provincial commissioner Perumal Naidoo was also not available for comment.
Director Sally de Beer, spokesperson for national police commissioner Jackie Selebi, echoed Reddy’s statement.
”I’m not aware of any ruling to prevent the media from attending the case,” The Star quoted the court’s chief magistrate, Gert Jonker, as saying. – Sapa