Rapport newspaper said on Wednesday it was satisfied with an out-of-court settlement reached with African National Congress president Jacob Zuma over a defamation and injuria claim.
”I’m satisfied,” was all Rapport editor Tim du Plessis wanted to say on hearing the news of the settlement on Wednesday.
The claim relates to a reader’s letter published in Rapport on April 2 2006 while the trial of Zuma on a charge of rape was under way in the Johannesburg High Court.
Du Plessis said the letter had contained one ”defamatory sentence”.
He said the paper had retracted the sentence later and published an apology about it in October that year.
Zuma accepted a R50 000 settlement offer on Wednesday from the owner of Rapport newspaper, Media 24, and Du Plessis and Chris Karsten after filing a claim against them in 2006, said Zuma spokesperson Liesl Gottert.
The parties will also cover Zuma’s legal costs.
”Every human being has the right to dignity and no one should get away with malicious slander. As I have said from the outset, my claims for defamation and injuria arise from the principle of fair and honest reporting,” said Zuma after the settlement was reached.
In 2006, Zuma lodged defamation claims against the media to the sum of R63-million.
He is suing media owners, publishers, editors, reporters, cartoonists and newspapers.
One of the claims against a newspaper concerns ”layout foul play”.
Broadcaster 94.7 Highveld Stereo was to be sued for R7-million for broadcasting a song called My Name is Zuma, commenting on the Zuma rape trial.
It was played by Darren ”Whackhead” Simpson, a member of the radio station’s Rude Awakening team.
His biggest claim against one publication amounts to R20-million against the Star.
This claim consisted of four different claims of R5-million each, three of which are against award-winning cartoonist Zapiro.
The fourth was for an article accompanied by a manipulated photograph of Zuma.
The Sunday Times, the Citizen, Sunday Sun, Sunday Independent and Sunday World are all being sued.
Nearly all the items in which Zuma felt he was defamed were opinions or cartoons. — Sapa