There has been a lot of talk on the blog about the legal aspects of blogging. What can you say and what can’t you say? Can you be sued for things that have been said?

I am not an expert by any means on ‘blogging’ law and the implications. I can only tell you my interpretation of how I currently see things.

South African law does not currently have any legislation in place dealing specifically with blogging. However this does not mean that someone could not pursue legal action as they could make use of other laws, such as those dealing with libel (or character defamation).

Here are sections of an article written by Dr Gerrie Ebersohn LLD (UFS):

Section 16 of the Constitution enshrines the right to freedom of expression, which includes the right to criticise. However, the Constitution does not grant Internet users a blanket right to say what they want, as the right to freedom of expression is limited by the provisions of s 36. Of course, comments or remarks constituting hate speech are not protected by the Constitution.
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There appears to be two laws in South Africa these days - one for government officials and one for the rest of us.

Just today it was announced by Ekurhuleni councillor Izak Berg that Robert McBrides legal fees from a Durban-based firm of attorneys was costing the taxpayers more than R2,5 million.

This is expected to rise substantially when he goes to trial next month on charges of drunk driving, defeating the ends of justice and fraud.

The first thing that really makes me angry is that if a common, every day citizen ends up in court, there is NO way that the state would pay that amount of money for a defence on Legal Aid. What makes McBride so special that he can get so much money from the state?

This is a clear case of discrimination against all the citizens of South Africa!

The second thing that makes me angry is that he got out of jail on only R1000 bail. Most ‘normal’ people would have their bail set a lot higher than that. Did he get it because of his ‘privileged’ position?

Why do the council and state not treat everyone the same? Why does McBride get given all these additional benefits?

What about other examples?

Don’t forget that the presidency agreed to pay an undisclosed portion of Zuma’s legal fees in his corruption trial. Some news sources have estimated the costs so far for Zuma are in the R20 - 30 million range. One wonders how much of that the government has covered!

These people should be entitled to what the common people are entitled to. Why the special privileges?

Why do people have questions about South Africa’s legal system? Why do we always suspect conspiracies, fraud or just plain lying? The reason is pretty complex, but let me try and offer some explanations.

In the justice system today, we do not seem to have judges which set a good example to society. Firstly we have had the whole Judge Hlope fiasco and we seem to be moving on to the complaints about Judge Siraj Desai. These are the top judges in the country being called into question.

We also have people like Judge Nkola Motata and his drunk driving charges. Did he set a good example for the rest of society? I think not.

Looking towards law enforcement we have similar questions. Currently there are questions regarding Selebi’s activities in organised crime. We don’t even have to mention all the drama that constantly surrounds Robert McBride!

The NPA is no better with all the questions surrounding Pikoli and the interference of the state in NPA affairs.

These are all top people who should be leading by example. These are people who should be above reproach. But matters do get worse!

The top law enforcement agency, the Scorpions, have now been implicated in a whole host of shady dealings and corruption. This is meant to be the agency to get rid of the corruption! Just take a look at Scorpions advocate Portia Kgantsi’s recent conviction.

Local policing is seen as being ineffective and corrupt. Stories of cops being involved in corruption, prostitution, cash-in-transit robberies, armed robbery etc. This is law enforcement on our grassroots level and people have no faith in it.

At all levels in the justice and law enforcement agencies there are serious problems that do not seem to be addressed.

Having a look at the justice system in all its aspects, is it any wonder why people do not trust the police or the courts? This situation is ripe for rumours of conspiracy, fraud and corruption.

The problem is, it is within the realms of possibility that these people could just be right!