Anthony Matumba, who works at the Makhado local municipality in Limpopo, is accused of running a Twitter account under the name Tracy Zille where derogatory comments were made against black women in an attempt to sow racial discord.

Matumba has vehemently denied any link to the so-called Twitter account and said there was no proof to link him to it.

The SAHRC, who is taking Matumba to court, say they made use of a registered tracing agent who linked the account to the councillor.

The Commission also roped in Twitter, who through their legal representative supplied them with data that linked the account to Matumba's cellphone number.

The SAHRC says the posts, published between June and August of 2020, constitute harassment as per section 1 of the Equality Act.

They want Matumba to apologise and clarify his identity on Twitter, pay a fine of R20 000 to a charity dealing with Gender-Based Violence and do 80 hours of community service.

The Commission says what is even more concerning is that he earned an income off the particular account.

The court heard on Monday that the sites had google ads which showed they were being monetised and the account was harvesting engagement to direct traffic to the sites.

Twitter has since suspended Matumba's personal Twitter account for violating its rules.

The case will be heard over the next three days in the Louis Trichard Magistrate's Court, sitting as an Equality Court in this matter.

Source: Algoa FM