Jackie Phamotse found guilty of defamation of Kumalo family
Popular author, Jackie Phamotse has been found guilty of defamation in a case linked to businessman Romeo Kumalo and his wife, former Miss South Africa, Basetsana Kumalo.
The Randburg Magistrates’ Court also found her guilty on two counts of crimen injuria, and one of contempt of court.
In June 2018, Phamotse tweeted that she had overheard a conversation between a businesswoman and one of her friends about a video depicting her husband engaging in sexual activity with another man.
When her followers linked the tweet with the Kumalos, Phamotse responded with a laughing emoji and said “I love it” and did not refute it.
Romeo Khumalo testified that the tweet was deeply hurtful and that it caused enormous irreparable damage to his reputation and that of his business.
Basetsana Kumalo testified in court that the tweet made her feel raw, attacked, violated, and insulted. Basetsana Kumalo approached the harassment court and was granted a protection order against Phamotse.
However, Phamotse proceeded to publish a book titled “I tweet what I like so sue me” in which she violated the protection order against her.
On the cover of her book, she referred to a case number that relates to a case registered by Basetsana against her, seeking the protection order.
On page 105 of the book, the accused suggests that the Kumalos have a lot of money and paid the magistrate to rule in their favour.
In court, Phamotse testified that she published the tweet as part of her writing process. She further stated that she did not intend to cause harm to anyone.
"In his arguments, Senior Public Prosecutor, Yusuf Baba argued that the actions of the accused had no regard to the complainants’ rights to a good name, privacy and dignity. He further stated that her actions were intentionally aimed at injuring the reputation of the Kumalos." said NPA spokesperson, Phindi Mjonondwane
"The NPA welcomes the judgment and hopes that it will serve to educate the public about the repercussions of using social media irresponsibly. Many people fall victim to cyber-bullying and the judgment serves to empower the prosecution in its fight against such crime." she added.
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