Johannesburg - [UPDATED] SABC news anchor and contributing editor Vuyo Mvoko will have to wait until Tuesday for his case to be heard in the High Court in Johannesburg.
His counsel agreed to re-enrol the case for next week after Judge EJ Francis as well as the lawyers for the SABC questioned the urgency of the application.
Mvoko applied to the court for the enforcement of his contract after the SABC said he would no longer be used to produce programmes until their dispute was settled.
His was the eighth head to roll in the wake of internal resistance to the decision to censor violent protest footage and criticism of the SABC.
He was not mentioned in the SABC statement on Wednesday reinstating seven of the axed journalists.
Mvoko was not a full-time SABC employee and worked on contract as a contributing editor.
During proceedings on Thursday, Mvoko’s lawyer, Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, argued that Mvoko’s case was urgent because his income had been stopped and because his visibility - essential to his livelihood - had been diminished.
“The public importance reinforces the urgency of the case,” he said.
The SABC’s counsel, Advocate Stephan du Toit SC, asked the court to award them costs for today (Thursday) because of the dispute around the urgency of the matter.
“The SABC says they’re entitled to costs because they were brought here wrongly,” he said.
“We’re dealing with a non-observance of the rules. We were enrolled on short notice.”
Francis said the issue of costs would be dealt with when the matter resumed on Tuesday.
The Star