The Moti Group has warned the fight to stop the amaBhungane investigative journalism unit from publishing stories, using the company’s leaked documents, is far from over.

The Moti Group, led by controversial businessman Zunaid Moti, was dealt a blow on Monday after the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) overturned a gag order against amaBhungane.

The judgment set aside a previous order preventing it from using documents leaked by a whistle-blower.

In a scathing ruling, Judge Roland Sutherland found the Moti Group’s application to prevent amaBhungane from reporting on and using the leaked documents was an ‘abuse of the process of court’.

The Citizen reports that the Moti Group said that while the ruling was in the publication’s favour, ‘this is just the first round of an ongoing legal process’.

Dondo Mogajane, Moti Group CEO, said they have studied the judgment and believe that a factual finding was not made on amaBhungane’s possession of stolen documents.

Mogajane said they are now considering their legal options going forward, including an approach to the Constitutional Court, as the matter relates to the constitutional right to privacy.

‘We still believe strongly that it is unlawful for any media house to publish and make use of stolen documents. There is no hierarchy of rights under the Constitution, and while I sincerely appreciate and support the freedom of the press, I do not believe that this can come at the expense of any person or entity’s constitutional right to privacy. The facts of our specific case are unique, and we strongly believe that the legal issues at play deserve further consideration out of a matter of principle,’ he stated.

According to The Citizen the organisation added that it believes there is still a criminal matter pending regarding the theft of the documents.

Full report in The Citizen