SOUTH AFRICA – South Africa’s ambassador to Uganda, Jon Qwelane, has been found guilty of hate speech for an anti-gay column he wrote before his appointment.
The South African Human Rights Commission’s spokesman Vincent Moaga said a judge ruled that the newspaper column in question, which was headlined Call me names, but gay is not OK, was promoting hatred. Qwelane was ordered to apologize and pay a fine of 100,000 rand (about $15,000).
The commission said they will donate the money to a gay rights organization.
The Associated Press reported that Moaga said the case sent an important message at a time when a series of rapes and other attacks on lesbians has raised concern about homophobic violence in South Africa.
“We are hoping really that this finding will send a message to community members, a message that says gay and lesbian people have an equal right to the protection of their dignity and rights,” Moaga said.
Following the outcome of the Qwelane case the Human Rights Commission, a government agency, said in a statement, “One of the major legacies of apartheid is that of intolerance toward difference – be it in terms of race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation or other such factors. As a result, 17 years after South Africa’s first democratic elections, the country is still grappling to find ways to better manage difference.”
