Independent Media believes that there was a deliberate attempt to "muzzle" its publication, The Sunday Independent, on Sunday, 10 December.
The company believes that an unexpected industrial action by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) on Sunday was a calculated attempt to block the delivery of an explosive cover story in The Sunday Independent, that revealed that there was an influential group behind Jacques Pauw's controversial book, The President's Keepers.
Allied Publishing, the distributors of The Sunday Independent, was prevented from distributing the publication on Sunday due to the industrial action by a section of employees belonging to AMCU.
It is believed that the same influential group has influence over the union and may have encouraged the illegal action in an attempt to prevent the distribution of Sunday Independent.
Independent Media condemns any attempt by any person or entity to interfere with the editorial freedom of its publications.