The International Press Institute (IPI) welcomes the recent decision by the Parliament in South Africa to repeal the offense of criminal defamation.
The South African deputy minister of justice, John Jeffery, announced the move in a tweet on December 6 saying, “This afternoon, Parliament repealed the common law crime of criminal defamation which is something media practitioners have been asking for, for some time. This was when the NCOP passed the Judicial Matters Amendment Bill.”
The bill, in clause 35(2), acknowledges that the U.N. and other international bodies have expressed concerns about the chilling effect of criminal defamation laws, especially on journalists, and have advocated for their abolition. It notes that there are well-established civil remedies in response to defamation.
According to the Parliamentary Monitoring Group, the bill now awaits presidential assent.
South Africa joins other countries in the region like Zimbabwe, Ghana, Kenya, and Lesotho that have repealed criminal defamation laws. This aligns with international and regional standards on the protection of freedom of expression and media freedom as enunciated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.
In August 2023, IPI published a resource toolkit that outlines the laws, commitments, case law, and other mechanisms protecting press freedom in Africa. This includes decisions of the African Court, the African Commission, and sub-regional courts like the ECOWAS Court of Justice, which all highlighted that criminal defamation unduly restricts freedom of expression and that countries should amend their laws to align with international standards.
“IPI welcomes the steps taken so far to repeal criminal defamation in South Africa, from proposing this repeal at the time of gazetting the Judicial Matters Amendment Bill to its recent approval by Parliament. We now call on President Cyril Ramaphosa to assent to the bill to facilitate the legislative repeal of criminal defamation and send a clear message from South Africa on the need to uphold media freedom and freedom of expression,” said Nompilo Simanje. IPI’s Africa Advocacy and Partnerships Lead.
“This will also contribute towards the creation of a conducive environment for information dissemination and public dialogue ahead of the 2024 elections in South Africa”, she added.