Kumalos win crimen injuria case against Phamotse

After a five-year long legal battle, TV mogul Basetsana Kumalo and her husband Romeo Kumalo have emerged victorious in their crimen injuria case against author and media personality, Jackie Phamotse on Tuesday.

Phamotse, who is well-known for her book Bare: The blessers game, was found guilty on two counts of crimen injuria and another count of contempt of court by the Randburg magistrate’s court. This comes after she wrote a tweet in 2018 that insinuated that the Kumalos allegedly filmed a gay sex tape. Although she did not name the couple, social media users came to the conclusion that she was tweeting about the Kumalos. 

“Just overheard a painful conversation, a female TV mogul pleading with one of my girls to not share videos of her drunk and her husband (sic) rimming a celebrity boy!!!!!!!!! What the hell!!!! Kanti, what kind of marriages do we have now!!! I have asked to see this video,” she had posted.

The Kumalos were granted a protection order by the same court when Phamotse was ordered not to mention them on social media and to also refrain from making allegations about them.

Speaking to the media after the court ruling, NPA regional spokesperson, Phindi Mjonondwane, said: “We are encouraged by the ruling as the NPA as it is a groundbreaking ruling. This judgment will go a long way in teaching society about the dangers of social media and will also go a long way in instilling responsible social media usage."

“The court had to weigh the rights of the accused, the right to freedom of speech against the rights of the complainants, the right to a good name as well as the right to dignity. We believe that today’s judgment will serve to deter social media users from using social media to attack others and will also go a long way in eradicating cyberbullying,” Mjonondwane added.

A relieved Basetsana said that she was happy with the ruling as it will help others.

“People have taken their lives from being cyberbullied and today this unprecedented judgment is for all of us. It is for my children who had to live in shame over the last five years. It is for my parents’ legacy who raised us well. It’s been horrendous and heartbreaking and I have to thank Ian for everything,” she said after the ruling.

The sentencing has been postponed to October 24.

Phamotse did not respond to Sowetan’s queries at the time of publishing.