Cell C disappointed with judgement over banner
SANDTON - Following the dismissal of Cell C's application for an interdict, the cellular network expressed disappointment in the court ruling.
The ruling was handed down by Judge Sharise Weiner at the South Gauteng High Court and this means that the controversial banner placed at WorldWear would remain where it was.
The banner was originally placed at the shopping mall a week ago and branded the network “the most useless service provider in South Africa”, causing a controversy and a court application.
According to Candice Jones, media relations manager at Cell C, the judge did not address certain issues when handing down judgement.
“Judge [Weiner] did not address our primary reason for taking this matter to court, namely the protection of the personal information and privacy of our employee, Riaan van Rooyen who, as a result of the banner being erected, has been harassed and verbally abused,” she said.
Jones added that the customer behind it only agreed to not re-publish Rooyen’s personal information when the matter was in court.
She also said the ruling had far-reaching consequences for any business in South Africa, “as businesses face the risk of having their reputations tarnished by an individual who can make defamatory statements, as long as this is expressed as an opinion of personal experience”.
Despite several attempts to get comment from a representative of the customer behind the banner, calls remained unanswered however. A lawyer representing the customer said his customer would most likely be pleased with the outcome.
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