A high court ruling supports whistleblower Patricia Morgan-Mashale, emphasising the right to expose corruption.
A high court ruling supports whistleblower Patricia Morgan-Mashale, emphasising the right to expose corruption.
On 8 August, the Free State Division of the High Court in Bloemfontein made a significant defamation ruling in favour of SAPS whistleblower, Patricia Morgan-Mashale, against Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya - currently on special leave - who had taken her to court in his personal capacity.
Morgan-Mashale, an outspoken whistleblower, had attempted to alert the correct authorities about her allegations of corruption and had resorted to social media when she had found no succour.
Whereas journalists writing about or investigating corruption have to work within the South African Press Code and the law in general, a growing list of South African whistleblowers, who may be able to bypass this line in the sand, has mushroomed online.
Morgan-Mashale is just one of these who have unflinchingly used social media to expose deep-rooted corruption in the SAPS.
Easy to accuse
Free State high court judge Johannes Daffue noted in his judgment that, "I accept that people serving the public, such as the applicant (Sibiya), should accept that they may be fiercely criticised by others from time to time. They are not immune to criticism."
However, he...
