crucial to the development of a democratic culture. As primary agents of the dissemination of information and ideas, they are inevitably, extremely powerful institutions in a democracy and they have a constitutional duty to act with vigour, courage, integrity and responsibility. The manner in which the media carry their constitutional mandate will have a significant impact on the development of our democratic society. If the media are scrupulous and reliable in the performance of their constitutional obligations, they will invigorate and strengthen our fledging democracy, if they vacillate in the performance of their duties, the constitutional goals will be imperiled. The Constitution thus asserts and protects the media in the performance of their obligations to the broader society------However, although freedom of expression is fundamental to our democratic society, it is not a paramount value. It must be construed in the context of the other values enshrined in our Constitution. In particular, the values of human dignity, freedom and equality--------It has long been recognized in democratic societies that the law of defamation lies at the intersection of the freedom of speech and the protection of reputation or good name--------Under our new Constitutional order, the recognition and protection of human dignity is a foundational constitutional value----------The value of human dignity in our Constitution therefore values both the personal self-worth as well as the public’s estimation of the worth or value of an individual--------------The law of defamation seeks to protect the legitimate interest individuals have in their reputation. To this end, therefore, it is one of the aspects of our law which supports the protection of the value of human dignity. When considering the constitutionality of the law of defamation therefore, we need to ask whether an appropriate balance is struck between the protection of freedom of expression on the one hand, and the value of human dignity on the other.” [8] This right to human dignity is obviously what propelled the Respondent (as Plaintiff) to approach the court a quo, alleging that a certain article published by the Appellants (as Defendants) on 9 May 2009, damaged her reputation and good name and that she suffered injury thereby. The Respondent claimed damages, in the following terms:“(1) Payment of the sum of E2,000,000-00. 6