“[We] believe that the Acting Judge [Mike] Hellens erred in his application of the Electoral Act by being guided by defamation laws in what was an electoral matter,” spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said in a statement.
“The ANC believes in robust political discourse and in-depth interrogation of issues. However, we maintain that the Electoral Act and the Electoral Code exact a high standard of compliance during elections.”
Like other established democracies, South Africa prohibited the publication of false information by any party in order to influence the conduct or outcome of an election, Mthembu added.
“The African National Congress is confident that a higher court, in this instance the Electoral Court of South Africa, will reach a different conclusion on this matter.”
Last week, Hellens dismissed the ANC’s application in the High Court in Johannesburg, describing the SMS as “fair comment”.
Following the public protector’s report, which found that Zuma improperly benefited from the security upgrades to his Nkandla homestead, the DA sent a bulk SMS to more than 1.5 million voters in Gauteng.
The SMS read: “The Nkandla report shows how Zuma stole your money to build his R246m home. Vote DA on 7 May to beat corruption. Together for change.”
Democratic Alliance Gauteng premier candidate Mmusi Maimane welcomed the ANC’s appeal.
“We are looking forward to telling another court and the SA public why we were justified in saying that Zuma stole people’s money to build his R246 million Nkandla home,” he said in a statement.
Based on Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s report on Zuma’s private Nkandla residence, a reasonable person would conclude money was stolen to upgrade it, Maimane said.
The judgment was both a victory for freedom of speech and for the truth regarding Nkandla, Maimane said shortly after Hellens made the ruling.
“It appears that the ANC will now attempt to argue that freedom of speech should be restricted by electoral law during South African elections,” he said.
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