Here is a full judgment by the Praktiseer Magistrate Court on the Thomo Nkgadima’s Protection Order case.

Judgment on setting aside and/or variatio of a final protection order in terms of the Protection from Harassment Act.

Summary of the Caroline Peters’ Case (Criminal Procedure Act)

The case

Brought by the Women’s Legal Centre and Caroline Peters before the Western Cape High Court, this case challenges specific provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act that trigger an automatic media and public blackout the moment someone is formally charged with a sexual offence or extortion. The contested sections of the Criminal Procedure Act are 335A and 154(2)(b) of the Criminal Procedure Act, which prohibit the media and public from publishing any information that might identify the accused or the complainant in sexual offences and extortion cases from the time an alleged offence is reported, the person is charged, or formally pleaded in court.

We thank the Department for the opportunity to make a submission on the protection of whistleblowers in South Africa.

We attach our written submission in response to the invitation for comments on the proposed Protected Disclosures Bill, 2026.

We would like to confirm our interest in making oral representations at a later convenient date.

Our 2024 annual report on the State of Free Expression in South Africa highlights the need for vigilance in the face of a range of growing threats. Although South Africans celebrate a high level of free expression, this research shows an accumulating range of threats from many different quarters.