This was an argument made by advocate Mark Oppenheimer, counsel for the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), in the Equality Court‚ sitting at the South Gauteng High Court on Monday.

The SAHRC brought the hate speech case against Khumalo following complaints it received about his January 2016 rant on Facebook.
Khumalo‚ an employee of the Gauteng sports‚ recreation‚ arts and culture department‚ called on black South Africans to do to white people what "Hitler did to the Jews"‚ among other controversial remarks.

Oppenheimer argued on Monday that Khumalo’s statements were a particularly "grave" instance of hate speech that amounts to incitement to genocide on the grounds of race.

"The respondent is a public official and member of the governing party, and his function in employment puts him in a position of influence over the youth. [His] position of power is an aggravating factor that should be considered when determining what consequences should follow from his statements‚" Oppenheimer argued.

He contended that Khumalo should be ordered to make a public and unconditional apology to all South Africans.
Khumalo should be ordered to pay to an organisation an appropriate amount of damages imposed by the court.
He should be restrained and interdicted from publishing‚ propagating‚ advocating or communicating hate speech‚ Oppenheimer argued.
The hearing continues.

Source: Business Day Live