Government on Friday failed in its bid for a court order restraining the Sunday Standard from publishing information from docket DOC/IF/2011/01166 relating to the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) investigations against DIS Director General Isaac Kgosi. The Attorney General, represented by Morulagany Chamme also wanted the court to issue an interim order that the Sunday Standard should return to government “all tapes, documents, material, information emanating from the docket within 24 hours.” Instead, Justice Michael Leburu issued an interim order that the Sunday Standard can go ahead and publish, but is restrained from reproducing verbatim the extracts from interviews conducted by the DCEC with persons whose names shall be made available to the publication for inspection, on condition that these names shall not be disclosed to third parties.
The court further ordered that “the said inspection shall be carried out by midnight today.” The court further ordered that the Sunday Standard is “prohibited from identifying interviews conducted by the DCEC with the afore mentioned persons as the source of their information in respect of any investigation into the conduct of Mr. Isaac Seabelo Kgosi.” In her founding affidavit, DCEC Director General, Rose Seretse confirmed the authenticity of the information used in the two front page stories ran by the Sunday Standard last week about DIS Director General Isaac Kgosi. Seretse states that the Sunday Standard in its publication dated 22nd -28th June 2014 carried a story with a headline Inside the DCEC docket on Kgosi. She stated that, “the said story was made of excerpts from the interview of the said Isaac Kgosi by one Don Mackenzie who is a former employee of the DCEC.
I must indicate that the said extracts were quoted verbatim with no modifications.” Seretse further stated that, “another story titled Kgosi fights back in the same publication, also quotes excerpts from the above mentioned interview. The National Amalgamated Local Central Government and Parastatal Workers Union and the Media Institute of Southern Africa indicated to the court that they will be joining Tsodilo Services (publishers of the Sunday Standard) and its editor Outsa Mokone in their defence against the application by government. Justice Leburu ordered that the two civil society organisations shall “if so advised, deliver an application to be joined as parties or friends of the court on or before the close of business on 30 June 2014. The Sunday Standard and its editor have been ordered to file an answering affidavit on or before the close of business on July 2014. The Sunday Standard is represented by attorney Dick Bayford, MISA is represented by Tshiamo Rantao and the National Amalgamated Local Central Government and Parastatal Workers Union is represented by Mboki Chilisa.
