Court’s ruling on libel good for democracy

The criminal defamation laws, derived from section 194 of the penal code were yesterday declared unconstitutional by Justice John Mativo. This reaffirms that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and that any law inconsistent with it is void to the extent of the inconsistency.

Where freedom of expression and the right to information are guaranteed in the Constitution, the criminal defamation law stifled those rights. Social media users and journalists, especially, have had to dance cautiously around the toes of the high and mighty in society while covering news the privileged did not wish to be in the public domain.