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Edward Zuma ordered to apologise to SA for hate speech and give two schools R30,000 each

22 May 2018

As part of a settlement reached with the Human Rights Commission, Zuma must submit a written apology, which the commission will then publish.

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 in 2017 to find Zuma guilty of hate speech and fined him R100,000 for an open letter to the pair.
In the letter, the son of former president Jacob Zuma described Gordhan and Hanekom as an "antimajoritarian 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 k*****s", 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 socioeconomic transformation.

On Tuesday the commission and Zuma 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 pay R60,000 to the Umthombo Secondary School in Howick. However his attorney, Ayanda Mkhwanazi, said the initial agreement was for the money to be paid to Ohlange High School in Inanda.
Magistrate Irfaan Khallil 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 that 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.

Source: Business Day

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The Human Rights Commission is the national institution established to support constitutional democracy. It is committed to promote respect for, observance of and protection of human rights for everyone without fear or favour.

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