Johannesburg - AfriForum deputy chief executive could soon be charged and convicted for contempt of court over his display of the apartheid flag if the Nelson Mandela Foundation has its way.
Last week, the Equality Court declared it illegal to publicly display the old apartheid flag, following the application by the foundation and the SA Human Rights Commission.
AfriForum has been the biggest defender of the flag and unsuccessfully opposed the application to have its public display outlawed.
Ernst Roets has come under fire after he took to Twitter and posted the flag soon after the ruling.
In a statement, the foundation said Roets’ actions were contemptuous and disrespectful.
“The Foundation is of the view that Mr. Roets’ actions are in bad faith and in contempt of Court. It is also disrespectful to a senior Judge, who is the Deputy Judge President of the High Court,” the foundation said.
The foundation said Roets’ actions were against the reconciliatory stance taken by the foundation after it won the court case.
“It should further be noted that during the hearing of the matter, the Foundation advised the Court that should it be successful, it would not seek a costs order against AfriForum.
“Costs usually follow the result in legal proceedings, and the Foundation could have obtained a significant costs order for its legal team, which included a team of counsel and attorneys. The Foundation elected not to seek costs against AfriForum, in the spirit of reconciliation,” the foundation said.
The foundation was now approaching the high court to have Roets declared to be in contempt of court.