Protection Orders: The Latest Tool to Silence Journalism
By Daniel Roodt
As attempts to silence investigative journalism in South Africa evolve, a troubling new tactic has emerged: the use of protection orders.
The Protection from Harassment Act, 2011 was enacted to protect victims from conduct that causes fear, distress or intimidation. It was designed to provide an effective remedy for genuine harassment, not to shield public officials from legitimate journalistic scrutiny.
Yet recent events suggest the Act is being used for precisely that purpose. Dr Sunshine Myende, chairperson of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), obtained a protection order in June in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court against Sunday Times journalist Sisanda Mbokelwa. This was after Mbokelwa sent questions about whistleblower allegations concerning the expenditure of public funds and claims that the NYDA was attempting to identify the whistleblower.
The order barred Mbokelwa from contacting Myende, threatening or intimidating her, or publishing photographs of her. While it has been postponed to 14 August, the case raises serious concerns about the potential misuse of legal processes to obstruct investigative reporting.
Those concerns deepened when Myende, who initially claimed in court papers that she was acting in her personal capacity, later told Parliament that the application had in fact been funded by the NYDA in her capacity as chairperson.
The case is the latest example of how legal mechanisms can be weaponised to deter journalists and suppress reporting in the public interest. While South Africa’s Bill of Rights protects freedom of expression under Section 16, those protections can be undermined when legal processes are against legitimate journalism.
The importance of a free press was perfectly summarised in a landmark judgement, Bosasa Operation (Pty) Ltd vs Basson in 2012. In that ruling, the judge stated, “The essential and critical role of the media, which is more pronounced in our nascent democracy, founded on openness, where corruption has become cancerous, needs to be fostered rather than denuded.”
Further Reading
- In article for Daily Maverick, titled ‘Protection orders are being repurposed as gag orders across SA’, Nkanyiso Ngqulunga and Ella Morrison, dive deeper into Myende’s use of the Harassment Act against Sunday Times journalist Sisanda Mbokelwa.
- A report by the International Press Institute highlights that environmental journalists in Africa face a serious yet underreported risk from legal threats. Titled ‘SLAPPs against environmental journalists in Africa: A perfect storm for harassment’, and authored by Jordan Higgins and Dr. Marystella Simiyu, it features insights from seven African countries.
