Pretoria - Radio and television were on Monday barred from broadcasting the public hearings into the government's R43 billion arms deal - to the ire of opposition parties who said the ruling made a mockery of transparency.

The SA National Editors Forum (Sanef) also warned that the move would detract from the credibility of the hearings.

At a two-hour sitting in the Pretoria High Court - which saw no evidence being led - the panel leading the hearings turned down applications by the SABC and e-tv to broadcast the proceedings.

Public Protector Selby Baqwa, chairman of the panel, listed several considerations which he said justified the decision to ban direct or delayed recordings by radio and television.

"Television cameras could, among others, distract witnesses and infringe on their right to privacy. A measure of confidentiality was also vital as the subject matter was related to national security," Baqwa said.

The hearings are to continue at a new venue, also in Pretoria, on Tuesday.

Public 'suspecting a cover-up'

The Democratic Alliance warned that the public already suspected a cover-up by the government.

"Excluding the electronic media from the Pretoria proceedings will add further spice to that belief," DA spokesperson Raenette Taljaard said.

The United Democratic Movement and the African Christian Democratic Party accused the panel of reneging on its' promise of total transparency.

UDM spokesperson Gerhard Koornhof said, "The judgment to dismiss the applications of the electronic media makes a mockery of the so-called public aspect of this inquiry."

ACDP leader Kenneth Meshoe contended that transparency should be the primary motivating factor in the arms probe.

"The public has been promised transparency. The only way that this matter could be cleared up is for everything to be laid out in the open," he said.

Decision 'negating the intention of having public hearings'

Sanef chairperson Mathada Tsedu said, "The decision to bar radio and television will be perceived by the public as negating the intention of having public hearings."

The hearings resumed in the Pretoria High Court on Monday after a postponement two weeks ago.

Three government agencies (the public protector, the national directorate of public prosecutions and the auditor-general's office) are probing between 40 and 50 allegations of wrongdoing in the arms deal.

Parliament's watchdog public accounts committee requested the investigation late last year.

Explaining Monday's ruling on electronic media coverage, Baqwa said the panel's decision to conduct a part of the probe in public was an unprecedented one.

None of the three agencies investigating the arms deal commonly performed their work in public.

"It is necessary to encourage and preserve the confidence and trust which the ordinary citizen - who is also a future potential witness or whistle-blower - has in these agencies," Baqwa said.

Another consideration was the nature of the information to come up in the hearings.

"These proceedings can only continue because the minister of defence [Mosiuoa Lekota] has given permission for the relevant witnesses to testify," Baqwa said.

'I cannot control what a witness might say'

"If the proceedings are broadcast directly, I cannot control what a witness might or might not say. Neither can I control the nature of the evidence involved."

This could negatively affect national security. There might also be commercial requirements for confidentiality.

Baqwa said the influence of direct television or radio broadcasts on witnesses could not be ignored. Witnesses tended to be distracted by the presence of television. Grandstanding was another potential problem.

"Our decision is therefore to allow still photography and taping by all media present prior to the testimony of the witnesses," Baqwa concluded.

"Journalists may thereafter remain present to take notes subject to any other limitations which may be imposed with regard to the openness of the investigation."

Counsel for the SABC, Derek Spitz said his client and e-tv would jointly seek a High Court review of the ruling to exclude delayed or direct broadcasts.

He asked for the hearings to be postponed pending the outcome of this action.

Baqwa rejected the request as unjustified, saying neither of the two broadcasters would, in the meanwhile, be totally banned from reporting on the hearings.

The proceedings are to resume at 10am on Tuesday at the Synodal Centre in central Pretoria.

With acknowledgment to Sapa and News24.