Court orders Mduduzi Myeza to remove anti-foreign nationals Facebook posts

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]Now taking you to a different court.

[00:00:01]Peter Marittsburg High Court has granted an order by consent that the Incori Langa Lialele Municipality Mayor Duzi MZA should remove Facebook posts calling on foreign nationals to leave escort.

[00:00:14]The application filed by a group of 88 foreign nationals and Copanong against xenophobia. South Africa demand that he stop making any post calling for foreign nationals to leave as they have proper documentation to be in the country. For more, we take you live to SABC News reporter. I'm London Khn. A very good afternoon to you. Talk us through what the latest in this court matter is as uh the documented foreign nationals cry foul.

[00:00:46]>> Thank you very much. The about 88 foreign nationals filed the the papers at the Petarisburg High Court in relation to calling on the mayor of Inosangal municipality to remove the post on Facebook calling on foreign nationals to leave the country. But there's also another application that we're going to listen to where about 38 foreign nationals who are shop owners in the same municipality are also calling for the municipality to bring back the keys is that they were removed by the mayor when they were doing the raids in that town. But we'll just also speak uh to the legal representative from uh the municipality attorney Zuma just to give us uh the feeling in relation to receiving this consent order. Thank you very much for your time briefly about this consent order. What does it mean?

[00:01:39]>> So basically what it means is that the this is an interim order. This matter is going to come back to court on the 20th of August. That would then allow the mayor to then prepare his papers and file his answering affidavit which will then detail his defense in terms of uh the case that he has to answer. And the case really that he has to answer is whether the statements that he has made on Facebook, calling upon illegal immigrants to leave the country, calling up on immigrants that are in the country legally who are committing crimes to stop doing so and for the law enforcement agencies to then implement the law and enforce the law. He has to answer whether those statements that he has issued are not in fact in conflict with the law. whether those statements do not amount to hate speech, whether they do not amount to unfair discrimination or xenophobia. What we have done today is that the parties have agreed that a a an order by concern will be taken in the following way terms. One that the statements that may be in his Facebook um page currently which may then be perceived to be you know hate speech or unfair discrimination. those statements will then be taken down within 48 hours and that pending the finalization of this matter, he is not going to utter any statement or say anything that may then be seen to be hate speech. And and I must indicate that primarily when you look at the Facebook page, you will see that most of the could very well be comments that may then, you know, border on issues of hate speech, not necessarily the statements that are made by the mayor. But the mayor has 48 hours to sit down, consider his Facebook page and look at those statements that he believes that may be, you know, amount to hate speech and then remove those statements. But of course the mayor has said to us, look, I'm a law abiding citizen. I have been elected by the people to lead them and and I don't have any issue with illegal immigrants and therefore all that I'm calling for is for the rule of law to be upheld and therefore I I I've not uttered any statement that is basically xenophobic that seeks to, you know, discriminate against foreign nationals.

[00:04:02]But he will when we come back here detail exactly what his defense is. But of course he's going to comply with the order that we have taken as as an interim order. So this is not the end of the matter. This is the beginning of the matter. This is allowing the mayor to then state his case. Thank you for your time.

[00:04:18]>> Thank you. There was Kani Zuma briefing us in relation to what the mayor also will be doing in relation to this order that has been granted by the Peter Marsburg High Court today. Back to you in studio.

[00:04:30]>> Well, thank you very much. Of course, a story that we will continue to monitor.

[00:04:34]thereundi kabc news reporter giving us a sense of how the case and the matter has fared in report.