The senior regional magistrate accused of accepting a bribe to influence a court case has hit back and sued several parties for unlawful arrest and defamation. One of the respondents is Zoutnet, publisher of the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror newspaper, whom he sues for R20 million.

Senior Regional Magistrate Ronnie Rambau made the headlines on several occasions over the past year.  Along with two other officials, he was arrested in a police trap in February 2010. The trap was held within the Musina area, with the aim of catching corrupt officials who sabotage the course of justice by predetermining the sentence of vehicle theft cases by means of a plea agreement. The three accused allegedly also received bribe money in murder and rape cases.

The case against Rambau and his co-accused, prosecutor Estene Willemse and attorney T E Lubisi, is set to continue in Musina from 21 to 25 May this year. All three pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Rambau was also accused of compiling a hit list, allegedly conspiring to have some of the witnesses murdered. He was arrested in January 2011, after a warrant for his arrest was issued in the Giyani Magistrate’s Court. This case was withdrawn in the same court in August last year, presumably to give the police more time to investigate the allegations. Rambau’s legal representative argued that the case had no merits.

In April this year, Rambau’s legal team served papers on no fewer than 11parties, accusing them of, among others, his unlawful arrest and prosecution. In these papers, the arrest is described as malicious and without reasonable or probable cause. Rambau’s legal team argues that, through these actions, he had been deprived of the preservation of his status as a senior magistrate and suffered physical and psychological trauma whilst in jail. He claims just over R21 million in damages from the parties, which include the police officers who arrested him and investigated the case, the national director of public prosecutions and the Ministers of Police and Justice.

Almost as an afterthought, Rambau also sues the Zoutpansberger, Limpopo Mirror and Isabel Venter for defamation. Some of the articles focussing on Rambau’s court appearances were written by Venter. In this case, he demands R20 million because his reputation was tarnished.

“The words in the context of the articles are wrongful and defamatory in nature in that they were intended and were understood by readers … to mean that the plaintiff is dishonest and he is a criminal,” the documents state.

The different parties are all expected to file papers opposing Rambau’s application in the North Gauteng High Court this week.

Anton van Zyl, managing director of Zoutnet, described the case as yet another example of how people want to go after the messenger instead of focussing on the issues at hand. “We don’t make the news, we report on what is happening in a manner that is as unbiased and objective as possible,” he said. “If people appear in court, especially high-profile citizens, we have a responsibility to report on it. It is actually more than just a responsibility, it is a constitutional obligation,” he said.

Rambau’s defamation case is one of several that the local newspaper group had to fend off in the past years. In 2008, a former municipal manager of the Makhado Municipality, Ms Faith Muthambi, filed papers in the Gauteng North High Court claiming R150 000 from Zoutnet. She claimed that the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) and the two newspapers of Zoutnet, the Limpopo Mirror and the Zoutpansberger, had damaged her good reputation. The alleged defamation of character stemmed from a protest march held by SAMWU in April 2008. During the protest march, SAMWU accused the municipal manager of corruption and nepotism. Zoutnet’s newspapers reported on the march and the allegations made.

After a period of more than two years, this case eventually made it to court, only to be struck of the roll, because Muthambi’s legal team stated that they were not ready for trial. A cost order was made against Muthambi.

In January 2010, a Musina-based businessman, Azwindini (Juluka) Justice Mamidze, sued Zoutnet for R1,5 million, claiming his reputation had been dented by articles the newspapers carried. In June 2009, the Limpopo Mirror carried an article on the arrest of four suspects in Musina for, among others, the smuggling of cigarettes worth R500 000. Mamidze was acquitted on the charge of cigarette smuggling on June 29, 2009.

When the case was scheduled to appear in the North Gauteng High Court in February this year, Mamidze’s legal representatives were at first nowhere to be found. The afternoon before the trial date, a new legal representative was appointed and he could only plead that the case be postponed. This case was also struck off the roll and Mamidze was instructed to pay all costs.

“Cases like these cost hundreds of thousands of rands in legal costs alone,” says Anton van Zyl. He pointed out that there are a number of other ways through which readers can express their discontent, if any, with newspaper reports. “One such avenue is the Press Ombudsman’s office. There are no legal costs involved when lodging a complaint to the Press Ombudsman and this is still the quickest way to correct biased or inaccurate reporting,” he says.

"We will not be silenced by such litigation and we will continue to report on what is happening in our community," says Van Zyl. He feels that the free press is one of the remaining pillars of South Africa's democracy and, even though he respects everyone's right to litigate, this constitutional right must be protected. "It is sad that the small independent voices of the community get targeted in this way," he adds.