Edward Zuma pays his very late hate speech fine just in time

Former president Jacob Zuma’s eldest son, Edward, has finally paid his hate speech fine, incurred in 2017 after he lashed out at minister of public enterprises Pravin Gordhan and tourism minister Derek Hanekom, TimesLive reports.

Zuma would have been sent back to the Durban Equality Court, which ruled he must pay the fine in May 2018, if he didn’t settle the debt, which he has now done a day before the deadline.
Zuma’s attorneys appear to have made the payment, and sent a letter to the court confirming their debts are now settled.

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It was reported in December 2018 that Edward was reportedly missing-in-action after failing to settle the fine.

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) was granted an order in May 2018 interdicting and restraining Zuma from “publishing, propagating, advocating, or communicating hate speech”, following the statements he made in 2017.

In an open letter distributed in July last year, Edward hit out at the recently fired Hanekom and Gordhan, calling both sell-outs and supporters of white monopoly capital.
Edward was ordered to issue a written, unconditional apology to all South Africans and for the R60,000 fine to be split between Umthombo Secondary School and Ohlange High School in Inanda, Durban.

The fine would be paid in instalments of R10,000 per month, with the first instalment due to Umthombo on or before June 30, 2018, with consecutive payments thereafter until the amount was paid in full.

The SAHRC, however, approached the court to obtain a warrant of arrest for Zuma after he failed to pay the fine in full.

It was reported the matter was heard in the Durban Equality Court where it was said that Zuma had been disrespectful and had disregarded a court order because he could not make a payment of R12,500 to Ohlange High to settle his fine.

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During proceedings, Zuma’s attorney reportedly said that he did not know whether Zuma was still alive or deceased, adding that he had been unable to make communication with his client through calls, text messages, and email.

The attorney further said Zuma had paid the one school, with R12,500 still due to Ohlanga High.
The attorney asked the magistrate to postpone the matter so that he could get in contact with his client.

The matter was postponed till January 22, when Zuma was given seven days to settle the debt. That deadline would have elapsed tomorrow.

In his open letter, Zuma had labelled Gordhan “one of the most corrupt cadres of the ANC who thinks African Natives are no better than just being sugar cane cutters who must be forever subservient to a master like him for sustenance”.

Hanekom, according to Zuma, was a “white Afrikaner Askari” and “no better than a vile dog trained to maul a black skin”.

(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)

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