Edward Zuma to apologise and pay R60 000 fine for hate speech

22 May 2018 - 12:57
By Nivashni Nair
Edward Zuma made a brief appearance in the Durban Equality court on Tuesday.
Image: NIVASHNI NAIR Edward Zuma made a brief appearance in the Durban Equality court on Tuesday.

Edward Zuma has seven days to apologise to the South African public and pay two schools R30 000 each for hate speech he made against Derek Hanekom and Pravin Gordhan.

The South African Human Rights Commission applied to the Durban Equality Court last year to find Zuma guilty of hate speech and fined him R100 000 for an open letter to the pair.

In the letter Zuma described the Gordhan and Hanekom as an "anti-majoritarian sell-out minority in the ANC who have brazenly and unabashedly spoken out against [then-president] Zuma on various white-monopoly media platforms”.

He stated Gordhan was one of the most corrupt cadres who‚ like Gandhi‚ “sees black South Africans as low-class [curse]” while Hanekom was a "white askari who will do anything to be an obstacle to radical economic transformation and to defend white monopoly privileges."

The commission submitted that Zuma's utterances painted the pair as proponents of white minority privilege and opponents of socio-economic transformation.

On Tuesday the commission and Zuma‚ a son of the former president‚ reached a settlement.

The conditions include that he submit a written apology to the public to the commission within seven days of the agreement. The commission will then publish the apology.

The commission had requested that Zuma jr. pay R60 000 to the Umthombo Secondary School in Howick. However his attorney Ayanda Mkhwananzi said the initial agreement was for the money to be paid to Ohlange High School in Inanda.

Magistrate Irfaan Khallil (CORR) said the Ohlange High School had a significant history and was also impoverished; therefore he ruled that Zuma split the R60 000 between the two schools.

"The parties should deem this matter as settled and finalised and undertake not to proceed with any further action flowing from the facts which were the subject matter of the litigation."

"In event however that the respondent fails to comply with the terms of this agreement‚ the applicant will reserve its rights to proceed further action against the respondent‚" Khallil read the agreement into the court record.

Zuma arrived in court shortly before the proceedings and then asked to be excused. Khallil granted the request.