Cape Town, South Africa
Open Secrets is presently unable to speak on a matter of significant public importance. We are not permitted to disclose anything related to the matter including the names of the parties that may be involved. What we can say is simple: efforts to muzzle public-interest journalism endanger everyone’s right to know.
South Africa’s Constitution protects freedom of expression and media freedom. We assert our right—and duty—to publish fair, fact-based investigations in the public interest.
Public interest media, investigative journalists, whistleblowers and civil society must be safe from surveillance, intimidation, doxxing, arbitrary arrest, and physical harm. Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), gag orders, and abusive prosecutions curtail media freedom and must be rejected by courts, regulators, and the public.
We urge corporations and powerful private actors to end SLAPPs and intimidation; disclose information that is of public interest; and respect the watchdog role of public interest media, the press, and civil society. Our courts have historically sanctioned abuse of processes meant to intimidate and silence journalists
We will not be silent
Open Secrets will not be cowed by attempts to silence our investigations. With our attorneys at PowerLaw Africa, we will challenge this gag order.
If we succeed in this legal challenge, you will be the first to know what we have uncovered.
About Open Secrets and PowerLaw Africa
Open Secrets is a non-profit organisation which exposes and builds accountability for private sector economic crimes through investigative research, advocacy, and the law.
PowerLaw Africa is an alliance of public interest law firms providing public interest litigation and legal services for cases and causes that matter in South Africa, Kenya, and around the African continent.
