As the National Prosecuting Authority prepares criminal charges against EnviroServ over the controversial Shongweni landfill site near Durban‚ the company has been accused of going to court to "silence" one of its most vocal critics.
NPA spokeswoman Natasha Ramkisson-Kara confirmed on Tuesday that a decision to prosecute EnviroServ had been taken‚ but could not provide further details. The company has said it would fight any charges brought against it.
Rankisson-Kara was speaking a day before EnviroServ was set to appear in the Durban High Court – but not as the subject of a case. The company‚ which operates the foul-smelling Shongweni landfill that residents of Durban's Outer West suburb say has made them ill‚ has lodged a case against Jeremy Everitt‚ a vocal critical.
Group CEO Dean Thompson confirmed the case but would not provide details. However‚ he denied the company was silencing anyone.
"EnviroServ has no intention of 'silencing' any third party; we have always been open to engagement with the community. The company is‚ however‚ entitled to protect itself against the public dissemination of malicious falsehoods and defamatory material‚" he said.
But an email from Upper Highway Air‚ the non-government organisation fighting the landfill over the stench‚ claimed that the company wanted to prevent Everitt – and the NGO itself – from filing its own papers against EnviroServ.
"While [Upper Highway Air] has been working behind the scenes gathering information and is now on the cusp of issuing EnviroServ papers‚ EnviroServ has responded by issuing its own papers – but for now against Jeremy Everitt in a bid to silence him from continuing to highlight its controversial activities and letting it out for all the world to know‚" the email said.
Residents of the affected areas‚ all west of Durban‚ are expected to gather outside court during the hearing.
The case is set down for 2pm on Wednesday.
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