Former ambassador Jon Qwelane has been given leave to appeal a high court judgment forcing him to apologise to the gay and lesbian community for what a high court judge ruled was hate speech.
The 10-year saga over his comments comparing gay marriage to bestiality is of interest to lawyers and proponents of free speech because it addresses the contradictions in South African law over the definition of hate speech.
Section 10 of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act‚ often referred to as the Equality Act‚ states that hate speech can be considered something “hurtful” or “harmful”.
But the constitution protects offensive and hurtful speech‚ unless it incites harm or violence. Section 16 states: Everyone has the right to freedom of expression‚ but advocacy of hatred that is based on race‚ ethnicity‚ gender or religion is not permitted if it “constitutes incitement to cause harm”.
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