Cape Town - History was made on Tuesday when a South African court began hearing a Strategic Litigation against Public Participation (Slapp) suit brought by an Australian mining company against six environmental activists.
The mining company, Mineral Resources Commodities (MRC), its chief executive Mark Caruso, and local subsidiary Mineral Sands Resources (MSR) with its director Zamile Qunya, are suing the defendants over alleged defamatory statements made in relation to its current Tormin operations on the West Coast, and its proposed Xolobeni operations in the Wild Coast region of the Eastern Cape.
Advocate Steven Budlender, representing the defendants, said: “These cases are about three actions launched by a group of mining companies and their directors in which they seek R14.25 million in damages from three environmental attorneys and three activists in total.
“Slapp suits are when companies come to court not to vindicate their reputation but to use their resources to silence and intimidate activists.
"What these cases are really about is what protections law offers to activists, lawyers and members of the public who want to criticise corporations - and whether they can take you to court and bankrupt you despite their lack of merit.”
“In a Slapp suit, the purpose is to silence. Either the defendants will have to capitulate, or they are going to have to engage in extensive litigation against plaintiffs who have comparatively endless resources,” he added.
“The only reason the defendants can be here today is because lawyers are offering services pro bono or at a reduced rate. It is not just these
defendants who are being intimidated. Think about the next activist or lawyer who would otherwise want to speak out."
Peter Hodes, counsel for the MRC, said: “Although the defendants make a compelling case for abuse of process, they cannot rely on abuse of process as a defence to a substantive claim.”
Advocate Lerato Phasha, on behalf of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, said: “Slapp suits are not to be conflated with and limited to cases of abuse of process, defamation or where people attempt to vindicate their own rights, but apply even to cases where people seek to vindicate or protect the rights of others.”
The six defendants challenging MRC for using a Slapp to silence them are Tracey Davies, Davine Cloete, Christine Reddell, who spoke during a 2017 UCT Summer School lecture, and John Clarke, Mzamo Dlamini and
Cormac Cullinan, who spoke out against the actions of MRC and the murder of activist Sikhosiphi “Bazooka” Radebe.
The virtual hearing, which continues today, was before Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath.
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