Gordhan 'weighing options' in Malema case
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan is weighing up his options in response to the judgment handed down in the Equality Court on Thursday.
The court, sitting in high court in Johannesburg, dismissed Gordhan's hate speech application against Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema.
The minister dragged Malema to court after the EFF leader called him “a dog of white monopoly capital” outside the commission of inquiry into state capture in November last year.
Gordhan's attorney Tebogo Malatji says they are considering appealing the judgment or suing for defamation.
"We think it's a hollow victory in the sense that the statements made by Mr Malema on 20 November last year were found to be clearly intended to be hateful and promote hatred of minister Gordhan," says Malatji.
"We think we won on that score, to what we haven't won on is the technical aspect about whether those statements made had a racist element to them."
Malatji adds that Malema must be held accountable for the personal attack on Gordhan and his family.
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The Public Enterprises minister dragged Malema to court after the EFF leader took aim at the minister in Parktown, in November last year. During Malema's address to supporters, he referred to Gordhan as a "dog of white monopoly capital". Judge Roland Sutherland handed down his judgment on Thursday morning.
"If you go back to that day you will remember that there were many a things said about minister and most of them were personal to him, including his daughter, so really he has crossed the line in as far as political speech is concerned.
"There must be a measure of limit to political speech," Malatji says.