A complaint was received from a listener in regard to a comment made by presenter John Robbie on Radio 702 concerning the application in State v Dewani, which was before the Cape High Court at the tim
e, for the discharge of Mr Dewani after the close of the Prosecution’s case. Mr Dewani was accused of having hired persons to murder his wife while they were on honeymoon in Cape Town a few years ago. The wife was indeed murdered, and after protracted litigation in the United Kingdom, Mr Dewani was extradited to South Africa to stand trial. After the application for discharge had been lodged, Mr Robbie reacted by saying, “I think he is guilty as hell…”
Held
(1) that the comment was permissible within the ambit of clause 12 of the Broadcasting Code. It amounted to an honest expression of opinion and was presented in such manner that it appeared clearly to be comment, and was based on facts fairly indicated and referred to, although the Court came to a different conclusion;
(2) that a complaint based on defamation, made by Mr Dewani, might have led to a different result. However, no such complaint was lodged;
(3) that the News clause sets a higher standard and that had this comment been part of a newscast, a different decision might have followed.
The Complaint was not upheld.