The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has slammed an urgent bid by two of Deputy President Mashatile's oldest friends to gag Media24 from referring to them as members of the 'Alex Mafia' as an 'abuse' - and struck it from the roll, with punitive costs.
Friends and comrades Paul Mashatile, Nkenke Kekana, Bridgman Sithole, Mike Maile together with David Makhura.The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has slammed an urgent bid by two of Deputy President Paul Mashatile's oldest friends to gag Media24 from referring to them as members of the"Alex Mafia" as an"abuse" - and struck it from the roll, with punitive costs.
In a ruling delivered on Tuesday morning, Judge Ingrid Opperman said she was"driven to conclude" that the application by Bridgman Sithole and Mike Maile to interdict Media24 from referring to them as members of the so-called"Alex Mafia" - a term that has been in use for 16 years - was"an abusive attempt by two politically-connected businessmen to gag a targeted newsroom".
"In my view, [Sithole and Maile] have abused the court process, by claiming urgency where there is none, by materially altering their case in reply, and by seeking relief which will have no purpose other than to improperly punish and make a chilling example of the first to seventh respondents. "Multiple other media houses have published pieces along the same lines, yet no interdict is sought against them even though the publications remain online," she added.We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
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