NEWS ANALYSIS: Vicki Momberg makes the kind of history she will regret
When Vicki Momberg goes to sleep tonight, behind the bars of a Johannesburg prison, the former estate agent will leave her own indelible mark on South African history. The 49-year-old will become the first person in the country’s history to be jailed for crimen injuria, defined as a "willful injury to someone’s dignity, caused by the use of obscene or racially offensive language or gestures". Prosecutions boss Shaun Abrahams said Momberg’s effective two-year jail term was a "victory". "This is a victory for the rule of law and sends a strong message to every citizen to treat every other person with dignity and not to discriminate on the basis of race," he said. "This foreshadows the significance and necessity of the need for the hate speech bill [currently before Parliament]. "It is also clear that we have a long way to go as a people to advance the values and ethos of our young democracy and to promote constitutional values."Twenty-four years into SA’s democracy, Momberg’s convicti...
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