Although former ambassador to Uganda Jon Qwelane is ill in hospital‚ the High Court in Johannesburg has started hearing the hate speech case brought against him by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). The matter was postponed in 2016 due to Qwelane’s ill health but his counsel said on Monday that it was ready to proceed. Qwelane informed his legal team that he had collapsed in a shopping mall, and was admitted to hospital at the weekend. "We won’t be calling him to lead evidence as his evidence is already on record‚" advocate Musatondwa Musaandiwa said. In 2008, Qwelane suggested in a Sunday Sun column — titled Call me names‚ but gay is not okay — that the Constitution’s acceptance of gay marriage would lead to people having sex with animals. On Monday, the SAHRC was due to begin calling witnesses in its case against Qwelane‚ starting with an employee who was set to give details of the commission’s complaints process. About 350 complaints relating to Qwelane’s column w...
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