DA wins R300K defamation case after ANCYL ‘racist’ slur in defence of Magashule

In a statement on Monday, the DA welcomed judgment in a defamation case brought by the DA’s leader in the Free State Legislature, Dr Jankielsohn, against the ANC Youth League in the Free State and an ANC member of the legislature, Thabo Meeko.

Judge Johann Daffue ruled in favour of Jankielsohn with an award of R300,000 in damages, with costs. The case was heard in mid-August, with the ruling delivered on Monday.

Read the judgment here.

The case related to how, on 5 October 2017 the ANCYL in the Free State released a media statement in response to a member’s statement made by Jankielsohn about an honorary doctorate received by Ace Magashule from the Bahcesehir University (BAU) in Turkey, which was a substantial beneficiary of the Free State governments bursary programme at the time.

DA legislature member David van Vuuren pointed out on Monday that Magashule received the honorary doctorate in 2016, and the provincial government had paid R32.6 million to BAU in the 2016/17 financial year.

The DA – Jankielsohn in particular – cast doubt around the legitimacy of Magashule’s honorary doctorate, alleging the Turkish University had possibly given it as a quid pro quo for the millions it received from the province.

“This is in sharp contrast to the R8 million paid out in the 2015/16 financial year and the R12 million payment in the 2017/18 financial year.

In reaction to Jankielsohn’s member’s statement, the ANCYL had referred to Jankielsohn as a “racist”, “clown”, “irrelevant white supremacist”, “chihuahua”, and “political redneck”.

In his judgment in the High Court in Bloemfontein, Judge Daffue said: “It must be one of the biggest insults to accuse a politician, or for that matter anyone else in our diverse society, of being racist or a white supremacist. People are sent to jail for making racist remarks. Racism is an extremely sensitive issue.

“There is no justification for the publication of untruths. The statement was published recklessly and with indifference as to whether it was true or false.

“Plaintiff is labelled and even stigmatised as a racist and white supremacist and it is highly probable that some people might have been incited to cause him and/or his family harm. We experience this on a regular basis on this country.”

The judge found that the ANC Youth League could not use freedom of speech or the accepted robustness of political discourse to get away with saying whatever they pleased.

“I am not prepared to accept that a political party or one or more of its members may use absolute freedom of speech in order to say whatever they want to say about opposition political parties or their office-bearers merely because an election is around the corner. Surely, parties may contest for votes and do that fairly and squarely within their rights as such. Our country will erupt into chaos if it were otherwise.”

The DA said the case had been crucial for “democratic interaction with each other as politicians in South Africa”.

“During sittings of legislatures and parliament the presiding officers are able to rule immediately on points of order regarding defamatory comments. Outside of these structures the courts have to play a vital role in determining the rules of political engagement between politicians who represent different political parties.

“This case has contributed to the entrenchment of our democracy by interpreting freedom of speech for politicians and determining the rules of political engagement.”

Van Vuuren said the DA had, through this case, contributed to South African jurisprudence regarding the use of the term “racist” in society.

“We are grateful to our legal team advocate Kristle Peterson and attorney Marius van Rensburg for their support and representation during this case.”

ANCYL spokesperson Sello Peterson told OFM News they were still studying the judgment.

(Edited by Charles Cilliers)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.