{
  "id": 4385486,
  "title": "Courts are clear — Unisa bid to gag journalist had to fail",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/courts-are-clear-unisa-bid-to-gag-journalist-had-to-fail",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-30T09:10:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Maverick",
    "slug": "daily-maverick",
    "url": "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2026-08-30-courts-are-clear-unisa-bid-to-gag-journalist-had-to-fail/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "An attempt to silence a journalist through a High Court interdict has become a recurring issue in South Africa, where institutions use this tactic to silence stories and impose costly legal battles. The University of South Africa (Unisa) sought an urgent interdict against Pragasen Edwin Naidu, publisher of the education-sector outlet ednews.africa, to remove three articles about staff deaths, hospitalizations, and burnout at the university, and request an unconditional apology and a permanent ban from criticizing the institution. This decision was made without giving Naidu a chance to respond to papers that were prepared over a week ago. Cases like these are becoming increasingly common in South Africa, as institutions facing unfavorable media coverage often opt for urgent interdicts instead of going through a proper defamation trial, as interdicts can effectively silence a story before the news value fades and the legal fees mount. It is crucial to question the legitimacy of the rights that institutions like Unisa are defending when they seek such drastic measures. Unisa argued that the articles violate its dignity, but this claim needs closer examination. Section 10 of the Constitution guarantees every individual's inherent dignity, while Section 8(4) extends the same protection to juristic persons, but only to the extent required by the nature of the right and the nature of the juristic person. This distinction is crucial, as it prevents institutions from claiming rights intended for human beings. Through Roman-Dutch law, courts have acknowledged three interests protected by the actio iniuriarum: corpus (bodily integrity), fama (reputation, standing, good name), and dignitas (personal, felt sense of self-worth). A company, university, or government department can have a reputation, but it cannot feel humiliated or diminished because it lacks inner life. In a landmark case, the Constitutional Court emphasized that defamation claims involving media publications require the journalist to demonstrate respect for the individual's dignity (dignitas), which is not applicable to organizations. Unisa's own answering affidavit acknowledges that public institutions, despite staffing thousands, do not possess a constitutional right to human dignity. Furthermore, Unisa had to prove that publishing the articles was unreasonable, as journalists are entitled to raise the defence of reasonable publication under National Media Ltd v Bogoshi and Khumalo v Holomisa. This defence protects media defendants from facing strict liability when later unprovable allegations are made. It considers factors such as the nature of the allegations, the reliability of sources, verification steps, opportunity for a response, and the necessity of publishing before truth is established beyond doubt. Unisa's attempt to bypass this crucial step demonstrates the urgent need for reform in how such cases are handled in South African courts.",
  "summary": "An attempt to silence a reporter through a High Court interdict has become part of a familiar pattern in South Africa where institutions use this tactic to kill stories and inflict hefty legal bills.",
  "key_points": [
    "Unisa sued journalist Pragasen Edwin Naidu to remove negative articles.",
    "Court ruled interdict must fail due to lack of response opportunity.",
    "Constitutional Court clarifies institutions lack human dignity rights."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}