Jacob Zuma and Louis Liebenberg enjoy a jovial exchange at Nkandla – Photo: Facebook / Forever Diamonds and Gold
DA to take Louis Liebenberg to Equality Court over racist rant
The DA previously reported Louis Liebenberg to the Human Rights Commission in 2020 over a video in which he inferred that ‘being black gives you a license to be corrupt.’
Jacob Zuma and Louis Liebenberg enjoy a jovial exchange at Nkandla – Photo: Facebook / Forever Diamonds and Gold
The Democratic Alliance (DA) said Louis Liebenberg – a diamond dealer and former President Jacob Zuma’s benefactor – must be held accountable for his alleged use of racist language. Leaked voice recordings of an individual that appears to be Liebenberg surfaced over the weekend and two Sunday newspapers reported on their contents.
DA TO LAY COMPLAINT AGAINST LOUIS LIEBENBERG
DA Shadow Deputy Shadow Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Veronica van Dyk, said the party reported the controversial businessman to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) in 2020 over a video clip in which he imitated President Cyril Ramaphosa.
He spoke crudely in the video and suggested being black gives you a license to be corrupt. The SAHRC ruled that the DA’s complaint did not meet the hate speech threshold and it was rejected.
In the voice recordings that emerged in 2022, Liebenberg allegedly used incredibly racist and crude language, including the “k-word” multiple times.
The DA said it would approach the Equality Court to ensure that Liebenberg is held accountable for “his despicable utterances.”
“The DA strongly condemns any form of discrimination, including racism, which has no place in our society,” said van Dyk.
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Liebenberg reportedly told City Press (which broke the story alongside its Afrikaans sister publication, Rapport) that his official position was that he did not say the things heard in the voice recordings.
Liebenberg claimed that the voice clips had been manipulated by his enemies when asked for comment by the newspaper.
It recently emerged that the diamond dealer put up R500 000, which allowed Zuma to go ahead with his private prosecution of Advocate Billy Downer and News24 journalist Karyn Maughan.
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