Tsedu v Lekota

City Press newspaper published a front-page article on 7 August 2005 with the headline 'ANC top brass spied on one another – apartheid agent'. The article, written by Wonder Hlongwa and edited by Mathatha Tsedu, identified Mosiuoa Lekota (ANC national chairperson and Minister of Defence) and S’bu Ndebele (ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairperson and Premier) as having supplied confidential ANC information to an apartheid-era National Intelligence Service agent. The statements were purportedly based on a book but were in fact fabricated and not contained in the book. Lekota and Ndebele sued for defamation. The High Court upheld their claims and awarded damages of R150 000 and R112 500 respectively. The appellants appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal succeeded only in respect of quantum. The damages awarded to each respondent were reduced and substituted with awards of R100 000 each. The appeal was otherwise dismissed, and the appellants were ordered to pay the respondents’ costs of appeal, including the costs of two counsel.

The case is a leading South African authority on defamation by the media, particularly on how courts determine defamatory meaning by reference to the ordinary reasonable reader and the article as a whole. It reaffirms the repetition rule in defamation law and clarifies that misrepresentation of a source is irrelevant to whether a statement is defamatory. It also provides guidance on appellate interference with damages awards in defamation matters.