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Qwelane's anti-gay column sparked record number of hate speech complaints‚ court hears

Jon Qwelane
Jon Qwelane

A column by former ambassador to Uganda Jon Qwelane‚ accused of hate speech‚ had prompted the highest number of complaints in any case with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).

This was the testimony the SAHRC’s heal of legal services Pandelis Gregoriou in the Johannesburg High Court on Monday.

“From my collection this would be the highest number of complaints received by the SAHRC [in one case]‚” he said.

The SAHRC received 350 complaints about Qwelane’s 2008 Sunday Sun column titled‚ “Call me names‚ but Gay is NOT okay‚” which suggested that the Constitution’s acceptance of gay marriage would lead to people having relations with animals.

Qwelane was not in court as he was hospitalised due to his ill-health at the weekend.

The SAHRC is the complainant in the matter against Qwelane and claims his sentiments shared in the column amounts to hate speech.

In the column Qwelane suggested the Constitution’s acceptance of gay marriage would lead to “some idiot [demanding] to marry an animal“. The column also praised Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe’s stance on gay and lesbian people.

“There could be a few things that I could take issue with Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe‚ but his unflinching and unapologetic stance over homosexuals is definitely not among those‚” Qwelane wrote.

Gregoriou said that Mugabe is recorded as having compared gay and lesbian people to sub-animals‚ undeserving of human rights‚ and that Qwelane’s comments were hurtful and harmful to the gay and lesbian community.

“It was harmful to the extent that – [and] in our analysis harm that doesn’t have to be direct – someone would have read the article and understood that is was acceptable to harm someone else [based on their sexual orientation]‚” Gregoriou said.

By comparing same-sex marriage to marriage between a person and an animal‚ Qwelane had compared homosexuality to bestiality and in doing so criminalised it‚ Gregoriou said.

SAHRC advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi said earlier that the commission would aim to prove that Qwelane’s column dehumanised gay and lesbian people and that this was harmful.

“One must take into consideration that dehumanisation has a distinct ability to justify physical violence‚” he said.

The case is being heard years after Qwelane was ordered by the Equality Court to pay R100 000 and apologise to the lesbian and gay community for his column.

Qwelane successfully had this ruling rescinded and is now challenging the SAHRC’s application against him. He is also questioning the constitutionality of the Equality Act for its allegedly broad and vague definition of hate speech.

Previously the court heard that Qwelane has suffered from heart problems and a lung disease. — TMG Digital

 

 

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