Patriotic Alliance (PA) vice president Kenny Kunene is required to apologize to EFF leader Julius Malema for referring to him as a “cockroach.”
The Equality Court has found Kunene guilty of hate speech after he referred to the EFF leader as a “cockroach” and “a little frog” in November 2021.
The judge ordered Kunene to recant his words and publicly apologize to the fiery politician.
Judge Motsamai Makume ruled on Tuesday that Kunene’s words constitute hate speech as defined by the Equality Act.
Kunene, also known as the Sushi King, was ordered by Makume to recant his words and apologize within 30 days of the court decision. Kunene gained notoriety for consuming raw sushi from the bodies of naked ladies.
The court also prohibited Kunene from publishing, disseminating, advocating, or conveying hate speech.
It ordered the registrar of the high court to create and submit the dossier and judgment to the director of public prosecutions within thirty days after the ruling in order to determine if the challenged statements warrant criminal proceedings for crimen injuria against Kunene.
In addition, the court ordered Kunene and his assistant to pay Malema’s costs.
Malema took Kunene to court after the PA vice president’s November 2021 interview with the television news network eNCA, in which Kunene made the statements. He demanded that he pay R1 million for the insults.
In the interview regarding coalition negotiations, Kunene threatened to deal with Malema, whom he described as a frog and a cockroach. During the interview, Kunene stated, “Julius is merely a vexing cockroach with whom I must now deal publicly.”
A day later, Malema requested through his attorneys that Kunene recant his words and apologize. He also pleaded with PA president Gayton McKenzie to separate his party from Kunene’s comments, but his requests were ignored.
Kunene said that he made the remarks in response to Malema’s characterization of the PA as a “amabhantinti” party (jailbirds).
»Kunene is ordered to apologize to Malema for his hate statements«