“Is a warzone, but profiteers are doing a roaring trade”

The South African Press Council announced on 14 February 2022 via its website the decision in the case of Gemfields Ltd and Montepuez Ruby Mining Limitada (“MRM”) vs The Continent and Mail & Guardian. The Press Council’s finding was published on its website.

The case involved an article written by Luis Nhachote of Mozambique’s Centre for Investigative Journalism. One article, entitled “Cabo Delgado is a warzone, but profiteers are doing a roaring trade” appeared in the [Mail & Guardian newspaper]. The other, entitled “Cabo Delgado is a warzone, but profiteers strike it rich” appeared in [The Continent], which is affiliated with the Mail & Guardian.

The Press Council found Mr Nhachote’s article to be in breach of provisions 1.1, 1.2, 1.7, 1.8. and 10 of the Press Code. The breaches were classed as Tier 2 (serious) infringements. The breaches included the use of misleading headlines, wrongly implying impropriety in respect of payments, inaccurately reporting monetary amounts, wrongly suggesting opaque ownership and not affording Gemfields and MRM fair opportunity to comment.

The Press Council has ordered The Continent and Mail & Guardian to publish an apology, to effect corrections and to provide a right of reply to Gemfields and MRM.

This is the second time that the Press Council has sanctioned the publication of work by journalists working for Mozambique’s Centre for Investigative Journalism. In May 2016, the Press Council found that an article authored by journalist Estacio Valoi and published in the Mail & Guardian entitled “Villagers digging for rubies ‘shot and left to die” did, inter alia, without sufficient justification create the impression that MRM and by association also Gemfields were in some way or another involved in the killing of people in the area and that given the total lack of supporting evidence, the newspaper’s creation of such an impression was not justified.