Court ruling issued in Unisa and ednews.africa media freedom case

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The High Court in Pretoria dismissed an urgent application by the University of South Africa (Unisa), led by vice-chancellor Prof. Puleng LenkaBula, which sought to gag the independent news outlet ednews.africa. The court struck the matter from the roll for lack of urgency and ordered Unisa to pay punitive costs after the institution attempted to force the removal of reports regarding staff burnout and governance failures. This ruling followed a series of challenges by South African universities, including the University of Fort Hare and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, against the publication’s reporting on governance issues. The decision was welcomed by media freedom organizations, including the Campaign for Free Expression and the SA National Editors’ Forum, as a protection of the right to investigate public power.

Consequences

Ednews.africa intends to continue its investigative reporting despite ongoing legal threats, including a pending defamation suit. The ruling establishes a judicial precedent affirming that public institutions cannot use urgent court applications to suppress reporting on matters of public interest.

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