290419w- Nuus -Johannesburg- The Johannesburg High Court is hearing a court case between the Nelson Mandela Foundation and AfriForum about the old south african flag whether it should be displayed, Ernst Roetsand Willie Spies are in court foto Felix Dlangamandla/Netwerk24 Story Jana Marx
290419w- Nuus -Johannesburg- The Johannesburg High Court is hearing a court case between the Nelson Mandela Foundation and AfriForum about the old south african flag whether it should be displayed, Ernst Roetsand Willie Spies are in court foto Felix Dlangamandla/Netwerk24 Story Jana Marx
AfriForum’s Head of Policy has managed to evade the threat of jail on Tuesday, after he was taken to court by the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF). Ernst Roets had previously Tweeted a picture of the old apartheid flag last month, just hours after its display was declared as hate speech.
AfriForum succeed in court
Roets claimed that his smarmy display was actually research for a PhD initiative. But the prosecution lambasted him for “undermining the authority of the judiciary”. However, earlier this morning, the law gave its full backing to the lobby group’s head of policy.
The court has dismissed the contempt of court complaint against Ernst Roets for publishing the old flag on social media. His actions were irritating and unnecessary but the decision demonstrates a mature judiciary.
— Joburg lawyer (@joburglawyer) September 17, 2019
Why Ernst Roets’ apartheid flag display was not illegal
The NMF were hoping to pin Roets on charges of contempt of court. The act was committed on the same day as the historic judgement on the apartheid flag was made. It was decided that “gratuitous displays” of the icon in public should be banned, and it can only be used for “academic and historical” purposes.
So, is Tweeting a picture to thousands of followers classed as “gratuitous”? It wouldn’t appear so. And the charge laid against Ernst Roets didn’t have a strong foundation.
Judge Lamont told the gallery that there is no contempt of court because, for contempt to be actioned, there must be a court order instructing someone to do something. Justice Mojapelo, who made the initial judgement on the apartheid flag, made his order a “declaratory” one – essentially meaning that the law doesn’t target one particular group.
Ernst Roets responds to the judgement
Roets may have acted in a provocative manner, but the flimsy case put forward by the prosecution and the adeuate excuse supplied by the AfriForum representative has ended up saving his bacon. No doubt we’ve got another scathing Tweet from Ernst coming our way soon. He’s already reacted to the judgement, live on eNCA earlier:
“We are grateful for the ruling, but this is what we were expecting. We now wait on what the Nelson Mandela Foundation have to say. This is not about the flag itself, we discourage its display, but there is a bigger picture here – the protection of civil liberties.”
“The only thing I did was share a Tweet and ask a question. In no way can you class this as hate speech. We believe that this was a witch hunt conducted by the ruling elites of South Africa.”
Ernst Roets
