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Knee on his neck
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Charlotte Mathews
Financial Mail
Friday, July 02, 2010
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Every now and then, Anglo Platinum’s attempt to project a more amiable image under current management than it maintained during the 1990s starts to falter.
The group, which makes about R50bn revenue in a good year, and Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Minerals (revenue: R10bn) are still pursuing human rights lawyer Richard Spoor for R3,5m damages over comments he made in 2006 about their treatment of Limpopo communities.
Though AngloPlat is legally within its rights to defend its good name, harrying a lawyer well known for championing community issues (and for getting up the nose of the establishment) is not doing anything to improve that name.
R3,5m may be insignificant to AngloPlat and ARM, but it is a substantial sum for an individual — and is clearly intended to be punitive.
In February, the North Gauteng high court was asked to rule on an application by AngloPlat and ARM compelling Spoor to provide the grounds for his public comments about their treatment of Limpopo communities. They also asked for an interdict to stop Spoor from making any more such remarks.
Judge Joseph Raulinga has not yet delivered a ruling.
Two weeks ago, the applicants’ lawyers, Brink Cohen Le Roux, e-mailed Spoor to notify him they would be applying for a special trial date.
Spoor says he was surprised by the letter as his relationship with AngloPlat has substantially improved in the past few months.
“We are working together towards common objectives, so an initiative to speed up or prosecute the case is rather troubling,” he says.
AngloPlat’s executive head of corporate affairs, Mary Jane Morifi, says AngloPlat would be willing to discuss a resolution with Spoor if he retracted his statements.
AngloPlat and Spoor have had initial discussions to try to find an amicable resolution to some of the issues he raised on behalf of some members of the community, she confirms.
ARM’s response is similarly that it would be willing to engage with Spoor if he retracted his statements and undertook not to repeat them.
Asked if he would consider retracting, Spoor says the litigation is not in his clients’ or his own interests and he would like to discuss the statements attributed to him to see if it is possible to resolve the matter.
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