The Daily Sun newspaper was compelled to issue a public apology to Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, for falsely implicating the EFF leader in a rape case.
‘Daily Sun’ reels it in and apologises to Mbuyiseni Ndlozi
This development stems from allegations published in April 2021, which the Gauteng High Court has now declared as both unlawful and defamatory.
The Daily Sun, a Media24 publication, previously reported that Ndlozi had committed rape in April 2021, a claim that was based on information received from a SAPS source.
The court, presided over by Judge SDJ Wilson at the Gauteng South High Court, instructed the newspaper to remove the defamatory statements from all its media and social media platforms within a week, in September 2023.
The order includes erasing the content from the Daily Sun’s website, X (formerly Twitter) account, and Facebook account.
On Tuesday, three months after the ruling, the celeb gossip paper published an apology to the EFF leader, “for the reputational damages as well as emotional distress that the aforementioned publications caused.”
“The Daily Sun herewith retracts all defamatory statements made and published by it on 11 to 12 April 2021 on its online website, and Twitter and Facebook accounts,” the publication noted.
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The case centred around three specific statements: the initial accusation, a street poster, and subsequent news reports relying on a SAPS source, along with an editorial comment by Daily Sun editor Mapula Nkosi stating, “We stand by our story.”
Ndlozi, in his defence, had informed the journalist, Amos Manayetso, that he was not in the vicinity of the alleged crime and had CCTV footage to support his claim.
Nevertheless, the Daily Sun proceeded to publish the story without comment from SAPS, only to have a police statement issued the next day clarifying that Ndlozi was not the suspect.
The judgment has been hailed by the EFF, with spokesperson Sinawo Thambo urging Media24 and Daily Sun to issue a public apology at the same level of publication as the defamatory statements and to commit to responsible journalism practices in the future.
“This judgement must never be weaponised to discredit genuine victims of rape and Gender Based Violence. We must all unite as society to fight against GBV always avoiding the politicisation of matters of this nature,” Thambo said at the time.
In addition to the public apology, Daily Sun has been ordered to cover the costs of the application, including the fees of two counsels. Ndlozi has sought R120 000 in damages, but the court has yet to rule on this aspect of the case.