The court ruled that Hantsi Matseke and her company Mayula Procurement and Property Management’s application to interdict the opposition party in the province and the two media houses from reporting further on allegations implicating her in a local property scandal, was not as urgent as the applicants purported. OFM News’ Olebogeng Motse reports the court found that the application lacked urgency.

Matseke and company, represented by Johannesburg-based Advocate Sello Alcock, acknowledged the importance of freedom of the press but stressed that the news articles which they deemed to be defamatory would negatively impact an already financially strained business, referring to the property management company. Alcock further argued they made use of alternative manners to deal with the issue, firstly demanding a retraction and seeking intervention outside of court since April 3, hence the delay in filing the application. 

Albertus van Rhyn, representing OFM from the Central Media Group, argued the case is not urgent. If it was, the applicants should have filed their application for the order in early April as the alleged defamatory remarks were made and published on April 1.

The alleged defamatory remarks date back to April 1 when the DA's leader in the Free State, Patricia Kopane, alleged in a media briefing the Free State premier and current ANC Secretary-General, Ace Magashule, had been involved in a corrupt property rental scheme in which Bloemfontein buildings were rented by the Free State Government as offices. The DA alleged Magashule used his position as the then Premier of the province to ensure his friends benefited from property agreements, with one of those friends being the FDC Chairperson, Matseke. The building identified by Kopane as being an example of the shady dealings is the former Saambou Building, located on the corner of Charlotte Maxeke Street and Aliwal Street, and owned by Mayula Procurement and Property Management, of which Matseke is a director. 

Media outlets reported on these allegations to which Matseke is now crying foul. The FDC Chairperson says she was not contacted for comment on the allegations made against her. In an urgent application, Matseke was asking that media outlets be ordered not to report on allegations involving her and that published articles be retracted.

OFM News