Pretoria - The former president of the SA Wargames Union – now known as Mind Sports SA (MSSA) – has obtained an interim interdict against a “blogger and tweeter” he says is badmouthing him in cyberspace, claiming he is involved in fraudulent activities.
Colin Webster, now the general secretary of Mind Sports, asked the Pretoria High Court to put a stop to Gavin Mannion’s sending out “untruths” and “defamatory” information on him.
Mannion was ordered to remove these posts for the time being.
Webster said the blogs, tweets, posts and comments by those reading them were getting out of hand. They were being retweeted, and comments were “piling up” and being sent into the world. Mannion frequently published comments, blogs, tweets and posts on the gaming industry on social media platforms, he said.
Webster said he stepped down as president of Mind Sports as the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) had ruled a person could not serve as president for more than three terms. “My stepping down had nothing to do with my work abilities or fraudulent conduct.” He was subsequently elected general secretary.
Webster said he was embroiled in litigation in the Johannesburg High Court where his brother was contesting his mother’s will.
It was claimed she was not of sound mind when she signed the will and an order was being sought that the Master of the High Court not recognise the will as valid.
With reference to this pending case, an article was posted on Mannion’s blog a few days ago, which allegedly referred to Webster as being involved in fraudulent activities and linking Mind Sports to the pending litigation.
“Since the first blog article was published, it has gone viral. There are hundreds of comments posted… and numerous comments, tweets, posts and blogs posted on social media platforms.”
These comments suggested he was involved in criminal activities – on a personal and professional level, he said. The false claims were not only harming him, but affecting Mind Sports’ sponsorships too.
Webster said he was a person of integrity and the fraud allegations were untested. “I was a member of Sascoc’s legal and arbitration commission for four years, I am the general MSSA secretary and procure sponsorships… I frequently liaise with the government and Sascoc.”
Webster is also on the International Sports Federation board and said the defamatory statements were seriously damaging his good reputation.
The application was brought without giving Mannion notice.
He has until next month to say why he should not be ordered to permanently delete all these blogs, tweets and posts.
Pretoria News