Freedom of Expression | The NM and Others Case

In her autobiography, a prominent political figure mentioned the hard work she had done battling for the rights of women living with HIV in a poor township. The women concerned objected to the fact that she published their names. They sued her for damages for breach of medical privacy. A majority of the Court held that although revealing HIV status was not defamatory of them, it did violate their rights to dignity and privacy. In a judgment supporting this view, Justice Sachs observed that in other parts of the world the right to privacy was invoked by celebrities, while in South Africa it was particularly important for the most vulnerable. Justice Sachs adds that an ironical consequence of the decision he supported, cost the publishers so much that they had been obliged to cancel a longstanding commitment project to reprint his Jail Diary.