Cape Town - Former domestic worker Gloria Kente, whom the Equality Court ordered be compensated R50 000 in damages after she was racially insulted and attacked, says she is very sad that she has not been paid yet.
In a civil case, Andre van Deventer was ordered to pay Kente in October, after the court found him guilty of hate speech against Kente.
Five months later, Kente said she felt Van Deventer has had enough time to raise the money. Her lawyer, Peter Williams, said this week that they planned further action against Van Deventer, and applying to attach his assets would be the next step.
The Equality Court ordered the compensation to Kente after she was spat on and called the K-word by Van Deventer. The court found that he intended to humiliate, hurt and insult her. For an assault charge, he was sentenced to two years’ house arrest and 70 hours of community service
.
Van Deventer was Kente’s employer’s boyfriend.
Kente, now unemployed, lives in a shack in Mfuleni with two of her children and two grandchildren, and said life was difficult. When she asks friends or family for money, they tell her she got R50 000. She is a SA Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union volunteer.
Williams said Van Deventer had indicated he could not pay Kente.
“We have a right to enforce him to make the payment, even if it is in installments. In terms of the law, we can apply to attach his assets and valuables,” said Williams.
Cape Times