Durban - TWO members of the Mazibuye African Forum, who had been convicted of inciting hatred against Indian South Africans,
have been ordered to pay R42000 to an orphanage.
In addition, the pair, Phumlani Mfeka and Zweli Sangweni, are interdicted from uttering any hate speech based on race and from targeting the Indian community.
While Mfeka and Sangweni said they planned to appeal against the Durban Equality Court’s decision, community leaders welcomed yesterday’s judgment, saying it would send out a strong message to others who still took hate speech offences lightly.
In April, Magistrate John Sanders found them guilty of hate speech for comments made in news articles and interviews in 2013/14.
The SA Human Rights Commission and Ahmed Kathrada Foundation filed complaints against them for labelling Mahatma Gandhi a racist, claiming
Indians had enslaved Africans and use of the word “coolie” in a Mazibuye newsletter.
Mfeka was defiant after the judgment, saying the court had failed to interpret their statements correctly, and that they were not on the wrong side of the law.
“In fact, we are the brave ones to have raised a concern raised by many people about the way our people are being treated in the workplace by Indian people. What we said in our statement was the truth and the truth that many are scared to speak in the public domain. We believe that is not hate speech,” he said.
Sanders found that Mfeka and Sangweni had not shown remorse for their comments, although the case had taken some time to finalise.
He accepted that Mfeka and Sangweni were not financially well off and were therefore unable to hire a lawyer.
However, he said it was highly probable that they had independent sources of income which they did not disclose to the court.
“What I do not accept is the notion that the respondents are men of straw who are totally dependent on the largesse of their families for their survival. They are self-confessed activists who travel all over the city and the province, engaged in activities.
“The notion that they rely on their families’ generosity is highly improbable,” he said.
Sanders said the pair had not shown any remorse.
“They claimed that they alone have a monopoly on truth. Nothing during these proceedings has given this court the slightest indication that they are in any sense apologetic.
“Nor do they have the slightest regret for their actions. From their perspective, the Codesa, the Constitution, the ANC and the SA Human Rights Commission, equality legislation and this court are all wrong,” said Sanders.
The IFP chief whip in Parliament, Narend Singh, said there was no place for hate speech and racial comments in society after political freedom.
“We all need to work together to promote social cohesion. We need to find each other and learn about each other’s heritage and culture. Celebrating it on Heritage Day is not enough; we need to work on it every day. The fine is only a signal to warn others,” said Singh.
The president of the SA Hindu Maha Sabha, Ashwin Trikamjee, welcomed the judgment and sentence.
“The message is that irresponsible comments will not be tolerated. It cautions people that they must be careful of what they say,” he said.
The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation said it would study the judgment before commenting.