Finance Minister Trevor Manuel was damaging his own reputation and that of the country by applying for a court order that would silence him, arms- deal activist Terry Crawford- Browne, said yesterday.

The Cape High Court on Monday heard Manuel’s urgent application for an order to stop Crawford-Browne from publicly claiming that Manuel was guilty of corruption in the government’s multi-billion rands arms deal.

Crawford-Browne said: “A gagging order would make a mockery of the guarantees in the constitution, which is the foundation of our constitutional democracy.”

Crawford-Browne said yesterday that if Manuel succeed in his application he would compound the international image of South Africa “as a country where corruption and crime are out of control”.

“He will also have shredded our constitutional commitments to ministerial accountability and freedom of expression,” he said.

Crawford-Browne said that when he told Manuel to his face that he had “prostituted” himself when he signed the loan agreements for the funding of the deal, his use of the word “was both accurate and appropriate”.

Judge Andre le Grange is expected to make his decision on the application known later this week.

With acknowledgements to Sapa and The Times.