Bloemfontein - Judge Joos Hefer, chairman of the commission of inquiry investigating spy allegations against national director of public prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka, says he is not convinced that there is a real threat to former Sunday Times journalist Ranjeni Munusamy should she testify at the hearings.

Giving reasons as to why he ruled that Munusamy should testify, Hefer said yesterday that his inquiry into the alleged threats had received a cursory affidavit.

"The affidavit did not persuade me that there is real threat to her safety against which she cannot be safeguarded by appropriate measures and rulings during the course of the hearings," said Hefer.

Munusamy, who wrote a story alleging that Ngcuka was investigated by the African National Congress (ANC) in the 1980s for being a possible spy, has challenged Hefer's ruling.

Hefer said her advocate, John Campbell, rightly stressed in his argument before the commission last week that the freedom of the press and other media was of the utmost importance to democracy, and freedom of expression was guaranteed in the constitution. "In my view, however, this does not necessarily entail that every journalist in any circumstances is entitled to refuse to testify or to reveal relevant information gathered in the course of his work, in a court of law or before a commission of inquiry.

"Unless other reasons exist which justify a refusal to testify, a journalist, like any other person, is obliged to testify, but is entitled to refuse to answer any particular question against which there is a valid objection," said Hefer.

Unless it was justifiable under section 43 (1) of the constitution, a witness could not be compelled to answer any question if a compulsion would infringe any of these constitutional rights.

But whether the compulsion would constitute such an infringement depended on the nature of the question and that would only become clear once the question was known.

"I understand her reluctance to reveal confidential sources of information by answering specific questions," Hefer said.

Munusamy's advocate also acknowledged that her reluctance to reveal confidential sources was fundamental to her request. He submitted that the types of questions listed by the commission would make her reveal confidential sources. "But I do not agree," Hefer said. "Some of the questions envisaged certainly do, but others do not tend to reveal the sources."

With acknowledgements to Xolani Xundu and the Business Day.