Sunday Times prepares for court

JOHANNESBURG – The Sunday Times was to file papers in the Johannesburg High Court yesterday replying to Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang’s application to silence any comment on her medical records.

“We are filing papers to say why they’re not entitled to get an interdict as wide ranging as they have sought,” said the newspaper’s attorney, Eric van den Berg. He said the minister was seeking to prevent the paper from commenting on or publishing any further on her health records relating to her 2005 stay in hospital.All records and any references to her hospitalisation, treatment and medical status also had to be deleted from reporters’ notebooks and personal laptop computers.Tshabalala-Msimang is also applying to interdict the newspaper from gaining unauthorised access to any of her other confidential records, he said.On August 12, the paper published that according to her medical records [a copy of which the paper had obtained] the minister had been drinking alcohol while at the Cape Town Medi-Clinic for a shoulder operation in 2005.On Friday, the court ordered that the newspaper had to return all copies of the minister’s medical records to her.One copy would be kept in a safety deposit box at a Standard Bank branch under the joint control of both parties.In an affidavit submitted to court on Friday, the newspaper’s deputy managing-editor Susan Smuts said the newspaper wanted to keep a copy of the medical records in the event of it being sued.”There is a real prospect that one or other of the applicants will sue the respondents for damages.The first applicant [Tshabalala-Msimang] has been reported in the media to be considering launching a further action for damages,” the affidavit read.”They [the records] are relevant to, inter alia, actions based on defamation, invasion of privacy, disclosure of confidential information and any statutory defence under the National Health Act, No 61 of 2003, that may be alleged.”The newspaper maintained in the affidavit that the article was published in the public interest.The court ordered that the Sunday Times had until close of business yetersday to file their answering application and the applicants (the minister and Medi-Clinic) had until close of business on Thursday to file any additional papers.”Papers will be filed later on today [Tuesday],” said Van Den Berg.The minister’s lawyer Mponyana Ledwaba could not be reached for comment yesterday.Nampa-SapaHe said the minister was seeking to prevent the paper from commenting on or publishing any further on her health records relating to her 2005 stay in hospital.All records and any references to her hospitalisation, treatment and medical status also had to be deleted from reporters’ notebooks and personal laptop computers.Tshabalala-Msimang is also applying to interdict the newspaper from gaining unauthorised access to any of her other confidential records, he said.On August 12, the paper published that according to her medical records [a copy of which the paper had obtained] the minister had been drinking alcohol while at the Cape Town Medi-Clinic for a shoulder operation in 2005.On Friday, the court ordered that the newspaper had to return all copies of the minister’s medical records to her.One copy would be kept in a safety deposit box at a Standard Bank branch under the joint control of both parties.In an affidavit submitted to court on Friday, the newspaper’s deputy managing-editor Susan Smuts said the newspaper wanted to keep a copy of the medical records in the event of it being sued.”There is a real prospect that one or other of the applicants will sue the respondents for damages.The first applicant [Tshabalala-Msimang] has been reported in the media to be considering launching a further action for damages,” the affidavit read.”They [the records] are relevant to, inter alia, actions based on defamation, invasion of privacy, disclosure of confidential information and any statutory defence under the National Health Act, No 61 of 2003, that may be alleged.”The newspaper maintained in the affidavit that the article was published in the public interest.The court ordered that the Sunday Times had until close of business yetersday to file their answering application and the applicants (the minister and Medi-Clinic) had until close of business on Thursday to file any additional papers.”Papers will be filed later on today [Tuesday],” said Van Den Berg.The minister’s lawyer Mponyana Ledwaba could not be reached for comment yesterday.Nampa-Sapa