Staff Reporter
BLOEMFONTEIN – Former ANC councillor and Mangaung Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) Sibongile “Bongi” Tsoleli has lost her appeal after the Free State High Court upheld an Equality Court judgment that found her guilty of hate speech, harassment and unfair discrimination for forwarding racially offensive WhatsApp messages targeting former Mangaung Speaker Stephanie Lockman-Naidoo, her husband and the Indian community.
Tsoleli had appealed the Equality Court’s decision, arguing that she was not the author of the messages, that forwarding them did not amount to publication under the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (PEPUDA), and that the court had erred in its findings.
However, the High Court dismissed all the grounds of appeal, holding that forwarding the messages constituted publication and that there was no basis to interfere with the findings of the court of the first instance.
The appeal was dismissed with costs.
The ruling means the original Equality Court order remains in force, requiring Tsoleli to pay R50,000 in damages to Lockman-Naidoo, issue an unconditional written apology to the complainant and the Mangaung Indian community, publish the apology in newspapers circulating in Mangaung and Botshabelo, and attend a South African Human Rights Commission-approved race sensitisation programme at her own expense.
The judgment now shifts attention to Mangaung Executive Mayor Gregory Nthatisi, who appointed Tsoleli to his mayoral committee.
The question now is whether the Mayor will retain her as an MMC after the High Court upheld findings that she committed hate speech, harassment and unfair discrimination and step aside.
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