A KwaZulu-Natal patient who sought an order preventing his former cardiologist from publishing Tiktok videos that allegedly disclosed his private medical information has had his urgent application struck off the KwaZulu-Natal High Court (Pietermaritzburg) roll, reports the Sunday Tribune.
Last month, Jeffrey Chetty had approached the court seeking an urgent interdict against Dr Ntando Duze to stop the publication of videos he claimed violated his privacy and contained defamatory allegations.
Duze had treated Chetty at Life Westville Hospital in March 2025. Chetty, who later sought a second opinion from another specialist at eThekwini Heart Hospital, alleges that the treatment he received from Duze fell below the required standard of care.
Chetty accused Duze of posting a series of Tiktok videos about him that contained defamatory statements and asked the court to order their removal.
The videos, he alleged in court papers, portrayed him as a criminal evading investigations, and accused him of sexually harassing a female patient and linking him to the killing of a sheriff.
Opposing the application, Duze said the videos were made in response to allegations aired against him during a Carte Blanche TV broadcast on 27 July 2025 and that Chetty had voluntarily placed his personal and medical information in the public domain by participating in the programme and discussing the treatment he had received.
“The applicant’s personal and medical information was voluntarily placed in the public domain by the applicant in the Carte Blanche episode,” Duze stated in his affidavit.
He also challenged the urgency of the application, arguing that Chetty failed to disclose when he first became aware of the 10 Tiktok videos, which were published on various dates from 3 May 2026.
During the hearing, Advocate Credo Mlaba, representing Duze, told the court that Chetty’s letter of demand was sent on 1 June 2026, but the urgent application was filed only on 17 June.
Mlaba argued that the delay was inconsistent with the urgency claimed by Chetty. “It has been more than 29 days since the first alleged defamatory Tiktok was posted. Therefore, these proceedings cannot be deemed urgent,” he submitted.
Mlaba further argued that Chetty had consented to the publication of his personal and medical information during the Carte Blanche interview and that the information had been in the public domain since July 2025.
“The Tiktok videos made by the respondent were, therefore, a direct response to Carte Blanche. Even if the order is granted, the information is already out on Carte Blanche,” Mlaba argued.
He also disputed Chetty’s assertion that the videos depicted him as a criminal.
For Chetty, Advocate Camish Gajoo argued that his client’s consent was limited to the broadcast by Carte Blanche and did not extend to private individuals republishing or discussing his medical information.
“The benefits of public interest enjoyed by Carte Blanche as journalists cannot be enjoyed by a private person. The applicant’s consent was narrow,” Gajoo submitted.
The court struck the application from the urgent roll, ruling that Chetty had failed to demonstrate the level of urgency required for the matter to be heard on an expedited basis.
The court did not determine merits of the underlying dispute.
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