Kessie Nair arrested, to appear in court for calling Ramaphosa the k-word

Former convicted fraudster and councillor Kessie Nair has been arrested in Durban by the Hawks and is expected to appear on a charge of crimen injuria in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court on Thursday afternoon.

The man made headlines on Wednesday after posting a video on Tuesday calling President Cyril Ramaphosa the k-word. A criminal case was soon lodged against Nair at the Bayview police station by former eThekwini councillor Brandon Pillay.

It is the same crime for which real estate agent Vicki Momberg was found guilty and sent to jail for earlier this year.

Further charges could be added, the Hawks said.

According to reports, the former councillor was also planning to lodge a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission against Nair.

Nair, who is also a former local councillor, is now an ex-convict who claims to also have links to the 26 prison gang after serving time in jail for corruption. He posted the video demanding the president be charged.

In the video he said: “I want to state quite candidly and straightforwardly that I, Kessie Nair, the CEO, founder, and creator of Navcare – the National Association towards Violence Crime and Abuse – do hereby call for that k**fir state President Cyril Ramaphosa – and yes I mean k**fir – to be charged for defrauding the nation … for oppressing this nation … for high treason … for failing … for being soft on all the crime, poverty, violence that prevails in this so-called democracy.”

Nair said Ramaphosa was mocking Mandela’s legacy and that he was prepared to go to prison for his views, or to even be shot.

On LinkedIn, Nair listed himself as the CEO Founder at Navcare Lifestyle System, and appears to be involved in cryptocurrency.

He argued the country was being divided by the ruling party so that it could be ruled cynically as a result.

Nair’s family has said that he is physically and mentally unwell and requires immediate attention. They said in a statement he has a chronic condition and they distanced themselves from his statements.

Nair had, for his part, been giving interviews denying that what he did was illegal and remained unapologetic. In an interview with eNCA, he seemed to have his own definition of the k-word, without a full understanding of the legal implications of using the word.

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