The Western Cape High Court has ordered the City of Cape Town to pay
its former Film Office head, Malcolm Calderwood, R100 000 and his legal
costs for defaming him, writes Devin Hermanus in the Cape Times.
Calderwood had sued the council and its economic development and tourism director, Kim van Deventer, for more than R1.35 million for leaking newspaper reports defaming him, leading to a loss in income.
He claimed Van Deventer wanted to get rid of him to outsource the functions of the Film Office to the Cape Film Commission.
In papers before Acting Judge John Riley, Calderwood said he received a letter of suspension on March 24, 2003, citing acts of dishonesty. He said Van Deventer had no reasonable grounds to believe he had been involved, adding that he was not given time to respond to the allegations.
He also claimed that Van Deventer or Gillian Bolton, of the city's Forensic Audit Department, maliciously passed on information about his suspension to newspapers.
Click here to read the full report, posted on iol.co.za.
