Illustrative Image (from left): Western Cape High Court Judge Nathan Erasmus. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach) | Judge President Mandisa Maya. (Photo: Gallo Images / Sunday Times / Alon Skuy) | The Western Cape High Court building. (Photo: Gallo Images / Roger Sedres) 
On Thursday, 27 November, Western Cape High Court Judge Nathan Erasmus dismissed the “gag order” against nonprofit accountability group Open Secrets, which was granted by acting Judge Gavin Cooper two weeks ago.
Judge Erasmus dismissed the urgent application brought by Integrated Convoy Protection (ICP) against Open Secrets, stating he would provide reasons at a later stage. The application sought to silence Open Secrets and prevent the publication of an article about ICP’s contract to supply vehicles to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Ariella Scher, head of legal at Open Secrets, told Daily Maverick: “We are very excited, but at the same time, it is what South African democracy requires that we have open court processes, but also have free media that can publish.
“We didn’t choose to come to court; we were dragged here. Our job is to publish in the public interest, and that’s exactly what we intend to do. Open Secrets is well known for exposing arms contracts and the arms trade, and we will continue to do so.”
Pending the hearing of the application for an interdict, Open Secrets was interdicted from publishing the contents of and facts relating to the application and order, and was directed to keep the contents of the application confidential to the parties.
In response to Open Secrets’ description of the matter, Chief Justice Mandisa Maya said, “Characterising the legal process followed by the Court as a ‘gag order’ is an unfortunate misrepresentation and undermines the role of the courts in adjudicating disputes.”
Read more: No ‘super injunction’ against investigative organisation Open Secrets — Chief Justice
ICP, which also trades under the name Reva Armoured Personnel Carriers, produces and exports armoured vehicles for private security and military use to countries around the world.
Vehicles manufactured by the company have reportedly been deployed in Iraq, the UAE, Yemen, Somalia, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan, Egypt, Nigeria, Thailand and South Africa.
The company, based in Pretoria, bid on a tender in 2024 to supply armoured vehicles to Armscor to be used by the South African National Defence Force to patrol the country’s borders.
ICP has two companies registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). Integrated Convoy Protection Pty Ltd’s directors are Nadine Rynners (Rorich) and Burger Johannes Vorster. Rynners is also a director of Integrated Convoy Protection SA Reva Pty Ltd, along with Phillipus Johannes Marx, who was once a director of the other company.
Court ‘ruled in public interest’
Open Secrets director Hennie van Vuuren said they welcomed the lifting of the gag order, noting that the court had ruled squarely in the public interest, affirming that corporations, including those tied to the global arms trade, could not shut down public interest investigations.
“This isn’t a win for Open Secrets alone – it’s a win for investigative journalism in South Africa,” he said.
“More broadly, it’s a victory for the public’s right to understand how the global arms industry operates, what South Africa’s role is in it, and, ultimately, to help prevent harm in countries far from our shores where South African companies may be profiting.”
In the report Open Secrets is preparing to publish, Van Vuuren said the investigation “shows a clear pattern of conduct involving South African companies and foreign entities, including those in the UAE – where expertise and knowledge are extracted from South Africa to help build arms industries elsewhere.
“Those industries are then potentially implicated in grave human rights violations and even genocidal violence in other countries.”
With the gag order lifted, he said, Open Secrets could go ahead with publication, but stressed that this was not about publishing once off.
“It is also about ensuring people continue to ask hard questions about companies that play a role in the supply chain of a military-industrial complex that wreaks havoc in other countries around the world.”
ICP was ‘dishonest’ to court
Geoff Budlender SC argued that ICP had been dishonest when it handed a redacted contract to acting Judge Cooper, a move Budlender contended was to mislead the court.
To drive home the point that the application was dishonest, Budlender took the court to the affidavit deposed by Rynners, which states: “I can unequivocally state that ICP supplies commercial parts to Company X which are generally available off the shelf. ICP also supplies spares and support services to companies. No complete vehicles were exported. For all of this, no permit was required.”
Budlender pointed out that this was not true. If one examined the full contract — the very sections Judge Cooper was prevented from seeing because they were blacked out — a different picture emerged.
“ICP refused to let the judge see the contract’s heading, which clearly states it is for the supply of modified Reva V4 4x4 armoured personnel carriers to be assembled in the UAE under a new name.”
In other words, Budlender argued, this was a contract for the supply of vehicles — not merely commercial parts. DM