AFRICAN NATIONAL Congress Youth League leader Julius Malema has been convicted of hate speech by an equality court for saying South African president Jacob Zuma’s rape accuser had a “nice time” during their sexual relations.
Magistrate Colleen Collis yesterday found that the statement made by the controversial president of the youth league to a group of about 150 students at Cape Peninsula University of Technology in January last year to be irresponsible, superfluous and demeaning to women.
Referring to the woman who accused Mr Zuma of raping her in late 2005, Malema (29) said: “When a woman didn’t enjoy it, she leaves early in the morning. Those who had a nice time will wait until the sun comes out, request breakfast and ask for taxi money.”
The statement prompted the Sonke Gender Justice Network to bring the charges against Malema, who argued in his defence that his comment had not offended anyone at the rally and was “fair” because Mr Zuma was acquitted of the rape charge.
However, Judge Collis told a packed courtroom she was “satisfied that the utterances by the respondent amounted to hate speech. It clearly demeans and humiliates women . . . The respondent has infringed on the rights of women.”
She added: “The words were uttered at a political rally . . . by a prominent leader. The respondent is an influential figure on whose utterances are widely reported . . . he was also addressing the wider public. He should have been mindful of that.”
Malema, who was not in court, was also found guilty of harassment. He was ordered to apologise publicly within two weeks for his comments and to pay a fine of approximately €5,000 to support People Opposing Women Abuse, a women’s shelter.
Malema’s lawyer Tumi Mokwena, after consulting his client, said the decision would be appealed.
“We discussed the judgment and he basically asked me what I thought about it and afterwards we took a decision to lodge an appeal,” he said.
Following the verdict, Sonke Gender Justice Network spokesman Mbuyiselo Botha said the group felt vindicated by the ruling.
“This case makes it clear that our country’s leaders need to be more responsible in their public statements and that civil society can and will hold them accountable,” he said.
Malema has also drawn strong criticism from opposition parties and civil society groups recently for singing a song at a rally that called on people to “shoot the Boers”, which is the Afrikaans for a white farmer of Dutch descent.