GroundUp is being sued for R5 million by Iqbal Survé, Unbiased Media, Unbiased On-line, and Unbiased Newspapers.
Survé is chairman of the Unbiased Media group.
Survé is claiming injury to his status following the publication of our editorial: Iqbal Survé’s newspapers take the facet of the Lottery crooks.
We subsequently revealed, in full, an lively response to this editorial by Aziz Hartley, the editor-in-chief of Unbiased Media. Nonetheless, Survé served us with papers and we now be a part of a comically giant membership of publishers and journalists who’ve been served or threatened with defamation papers by Survé or organisations underneath his management.
Learn Survé’s summons and declare right here.
On this article, we have a look at Survé’s case towards us and the circumstances he is introduced towards different information organisations.
READ | Inside ‘Operation Hlanza’: Unbiased Media’s plan to topple Ramaphosa
Our editorial identified that Unbiased Newspapers — a bunch of titles owned and managed by Survé — had displayed a transparent bias in direction of the management of the Nationwide Lotteries Fee in its publication of a sequence of interviews with disgraced former commissioner Thabang Mampane in August.
These uncritical interviews gave Mampane a platform to defend her document. The month earlier than, we revealed {that a} Lottery grant had paid for her house on an elite golf property. Later within the month, Unbiased On-line (IOL) revealed one other article: COO dumps Nationwide Lotteries every week after commissioner resigned – which additionally lacks steadiness.
In his declare towards us, Survé says that GroundUp’s editorial was “wrongful and defamatory”.
He says that readers could be left with the impression that he and his publications:
- Are dishonest;
- Are biased and have political affiliation;
- Makes use of Unbiased Media and Unbiased Newspapers publications to additional their very own political and private agendas to govern narratives;
- Corrupt or has engaged in corruption;
- Are unethical;
- Have acted illegally; and
- Are propagandists.
Survé says GroundUp ought to pay R5 million for this.
GroundUp’s working bills final yr had been lower than R8 million.
The most important defamation award in South African historical past is R800 000, which was set by the Northern Cape Excessive Courtroom in July 2021.
Litigation fixation
GroundUp is simply the newest in an extended line of reports shops and journalists who’re being sued by Survé for reporting on the exercise of his newspapers or his companies. At the least six information organisations have been sued in 2022 alone, together with eMedia Holdings (proprietor of e.television); Media24 (writer of News24); the Day by day Maverick; and Enviornment (writer of the Sunday Instances, Enterprise Day, and others).
Probably the most spectacular risk, and never in a great way, is the R500-million letter of demand towards Ann Crotty, Ray Hartley, Enterprise Day, and Enterprise Dwell by Survé’s African Information Company, introduced in March 2017.Then, in 2019, labour journalist Terry Bell and Media24 had been sued by Survé for R100 million for defamation associated to a celebrated 2016 article by which Bell revealed that Survé had routinely lied about his previous and his claims to fame.
Bell found, amongst different issues, that:
- Survé was not, as he had claimed (and continues to assert), the private physician or buddy to Nelson Mandela;
- Survé was not, as claimed, mentored by Ahmed Kathrada (“I do not know the person personally,” stated Kathrada to Bell);
- Survé falsely claimed to be a “Fellow of the Prince of Wales’ Enterprise and Sustainability Programme”;
- Survé falsely claimed to have acquired an award from Amnesty Worldwide;
- Survé falsely claimed to have been Bafana Bafana’s “thoughts coach” for his or her African Cup of Nations victory in 1996; and
- Survé falsely claimed to be the Indian cricket crew’s “thoughts coach”.
And there may be far more.
Bell’s article is a contemporary traditional and deserves to be re-read.
The case towards him didn’t proceed, Bell instructed GroundUp.
He stated:
A lot as I used to be trying ahead to it, it was simply one other empty risk.
Then, in 2022, Survé launched a flurry of defamation fits, seemingly making good on a number of long-standing threats towards rival information publications and journalists who had the temerity to look into his affairs.
E-SAT TV and eMedia Holdings are going through a swimsuit, launched this yr.
The Day by day Maverick has been served with 4 such fits, excluding the one which they’re cited in with GroundUp. In a single, about an article written by amaBhungane journalist Dewald van Rensburg and two by Chris Roper, Survé is suing for R1.5 million (R500 000 over three articles).
One other goes after a Tim Cohen article, which Survé says is price R1 million in damages. The third takes on Pieter-Louis Myburgh for R1 million for 2 articles. In all three, Branko Brkic, editor of the Day by day Maverick, and Stylianos Charalambous, its CEO, are additionally cited. Brkic and Charalambous are additionally sued by Survé for R4 million, for an article and a LinkedIn submit.
Enviornment Holdings is going through three fits launched in 2022.
- versus the Sunday Instances, TimesLive, S’thembiso Msomi and Bobby Jordan, Survé is claiming R2 million for basic damages for alleged defamation;
- versus the Monetary Mail, Businesslive, Rob Rose and Ann Crotty, he’s claiming R1 million; and
- versus Enterprise Day, BusinessLive, Lukanyo Mnyanda, Warren Thompson and Nick Hedley, he’s claiming R500 000 for every of three articles.
Wits College can also be being sued for defamation.
In 2021, Wits hosted the African Investigative Journalism Convention. A panel that includes amaBhungane journalists mentioned Survé – after which everybody concerned obtained served with a Survé defamation swimsuit. Watch the offending video right here.
Shirona Patel, the Wits spokesperson, instructed GroundUp:
Dr Survé and related entities/people are claiming R5 million every from the college. The college is opposing this declare.
Anton Harber, Professor of Journalism at Wits College, stated: “On this case, Dr Survé is attacking audio system for issues stated at a college convention. This can be a direct and unprecedented assault on educational freedom. It’s a case that’s more likely to set a authorized precedent – hopefully, to shore up the college’s freedom to discover concepts and data with out such harassment.”
Survé has additionally issued dozens of threats of litigation.
Charalambous says in a March 2022 opinion piece that the information home had been issued with 15 such threats. Even cartoonist Zapiro acquired one.
In Could this yr, NB Publishers, who in October 2019 revealed Paper Tiger, an account by Alide Dasnois* and Chris Whitfield of Survé’s takeover of Unbiased Newspapers, acquired a letter of demand from Survé. Information organisations that revealed extracts of the e book had been additionally served with letters.
This, stated Gys Visser from NB Publishers, was “a transparent try at intimidation”. He instructed GroundUp that the corporate hadn’t heard something from Survé’s attorneys “in fairly a while”.
SLAPP within the face
Charalambous argues that the letters of demand and lawsuits introduced towards the Day by day Maverick at Survé’s command will not be designed to deal with a respectable grievance, however simply to empty time and money from a rival publication in an try to dissuade important reporting. He identified this as Strategic Litigation In opposition to Public Participation (SLAPP) fits.
In February, the Constitutional Courtroom heard a matter that pertains to using litigation to silence dissenting voices – Mineral Sands Useful resource Pty Ltd v Rendell & Others. Judgment is but to be delivered
Willem de Klerk, an lawyer representing Enviornment, Day by day Maverick, and amaBhungane towards Survé, says they’ve filed a particular plea that Survé’s fits are successfully SLAPP fits, “an abuse of course of, specifically a marketing campaign towards the media”. Motion in Survé’s fits has been suspended, pending the result of the Constitutional Courtroom matter.
De Klerk stated:
The quantities claimed by Survé are obviously exorbitant, which Survé is aware of he wouldn’t realistically and even remotely be awarded by the courts, which in our view underscores the abusiveness of the marketing campaign.
It’s obscure how Survé or his legal professionals come to the quantities claimed of their varied summons. All his claims are greater than the largest-ever defamation declare, however even then, it’s obscure why the “injury” finished by GroundUp is about at R5 million, whereas Enterprise Day, BusinessLive, Lukanyo Mnyanda, Warren Thompson and Nick Hedley, are being sued for R500 000 for every of three articles. Why is Ann Crotty being sued for R1 million in 2022, when in 2019 a swimsuit towards her was price R500 million?
GroundUp despatched Survé detailed questions in regards to the standing of his defamation litigation. We requested about circumstances going again to 2015. We additionally requested whether or not the threats of litigation had been adopted by summons.
In response, his legal professionals, Abrahams Kiewitz Inc. knowledgeable us: “Our consumer won’t touch upon the issues you seek advice from, as they’re earlier than courtroom.”
Huh?
* Disclosure: Dasnois is the affiliate editor of GroundUp.
Originally published at Irvine News HQ
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