Jon Qwelane found guilty of hate speech
Johannesburg - Former ambassador to Uganda Jon Qwelane was found guilty of hate speech, in the South Gauteng High Court on Friday. Judge Dimpheletse Moshidi said, "The offending statement is hurtful, harmful and incites propaganda hate towards the LGBT community." Moshidi said that Qwelane must turn to the LGBT community with an unconditional apology within 30 days.
The apology must be published in the Sunday Sun or any National Sunday newspaper and the proof of the published apology must be brought to court.
Qwelane must pay all costs of the proceeds, including those of the postponements and senior council.
The matter would be referred to the Saps for further investigation.
In his column headlined, "Call me names, but gay is not okay", Qwelane expressed his opinion about homosexuals.
The column was published in the Sunday Sun on July 20, 2008.
In the column – which was accompanied by a cartoon of a man marrying a goat – Qwelane lauded Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's "unflinching and unapologetic stance" on homosexuality.
Qwelane wrote, "There could be a few things I could take issue with Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, but his unflinching and unapologetic stance over homosexuals is definitely not among those."At his last court appearance the court heard that his column was harmful and hurtful towards the gay and lesbian community.
Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi for the The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) argued at the time the commission had received 350 complaints in relation to the article – which is the highest number it has ever received.Ngcukaitobi said the words contained in the column had negative psychological and emotional effects on the gay and lesbian community.
