KARYN MAUGHAN: Investec CEO in landmark case on racism
Is the k-word still racist when it is used by a black person? This question is at the heart of a crimen injuria case being brought by Investec CEO Fani Titi
The prosecutor in the case, advocate Yusuf Baba, referred to the matter in the trial of convicted racist Vicki Momberg, who suggested that the state was only pursuing her over her video-taped and repeated use of the k-word because she was white.
“We prosecute all cases involving the k-word in this court,” Baba said.
Titi has started testifying in the case, and will face cross-examination from Ngwenya’s lawyers when he returns to court to fight the case later this month.
But a crucial question that still needs to be answered is whether Ngwenya’s identity as a black man may be used as a defence of his alleged use of the k-word.
Is the k-word still racist when it is used by a black person? This question is at the heart of a crimen injuria case being brought by Investec CEO Fani Titi against his erstwhile business associate Peter-Paul Ngwenya. And it is one of the crucial areas of debate about the highly contested Prevention and Combatting of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill, which was approved by cabinet on Tuesday and will soon come before parliament. Titi and Ngwenya have been involved in a long-running business feud that resulted in Titi obtaining a Protection from Harassment Act order against Ngwenya in the Randburg Magistrate's Court. Last year, The Sunday Times reported that the two former friends had turned against each other in a fight over shares they bought in Gagasi FM and Heart FM, which were worth millions of rands.Ngwenya is now on trial for allegedly violating that order. In what is believed to be a legal first, Titi is also pursuing a crimen injuria case against Ngwenya for sending an SMS m...
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