Kessie Nair denied bail
The magistrate told Nair that he did not understand the magnitude of the case.
Former Durban councillor, Kessie Nair, sits at the Verulam Family Court, some 25 kilometres north of Durban, South Africa, on September 20, 2018. Nair has been arrested and charged with making racial insults after he abused South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in a video posted on social media, police said. Picture: AFP PHOTO / RAJESH JANTILAL
Kessie Nair, the man who used the k-word in a video when referring to President Cyril Ramaphosa, has been denied bail.
Nair appeared in the Verulam Magistrates Court on Wednesday for his bail application.
The magistrate expressed concern that Nair did not appreciate the magnitude of what he has done.
#KessieNair has been denied bail. @ECR_Newswatch
— Bernadette Wicks (Wolhuter) (@bern_wicks) October 17, 2018
He was arrested in September after he posted a video accusing Ramaphosa of mocking Nelson Mandela’s legacy.
He faces six counts of crimen injuria and two counts of incitement. The court has ruled that he was to be a patient at the Fort Napier Psychiatric Hospital in Pietermaritzburg for a 28-day mental evaluation.
Last month he apologised to Ramaphosa for the racial slur.
“I would like to this opportunity to publicity to apologise to the state President Mr Cyril Ramaphosa and to the nation as a whole. I am not a racist. The remarks that I made on video which I posted, there would have been different alternatives that I could’ve utilised, but using the k-word obviously brought about the emotional aspect. I call upon the president and nation as a whole to find it within them to forgive me – there’s a bigger purpose and reason to where my frustration lies…
“…the tactic to utilise the k-word on the president and draw the attention of the nation to the reality of it.
“Words and actions and opinions of people should not empower your mind and destroy you from you.”
He was arrested in Durban by the Hawks for saying Ramaphosa was mocking Mandela’s legacy and that he was prepared to go to prison for calling him a “k**fir”, or to even be shot.
(Compiled by Gopolang Chawane)
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