Former Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom on Monday accepted an apology from former president Jacob Zuma for his tweet last year in which he accused Hanekom of being “a known enemy agent,” Hanekom’s lawyer has said.
The tweet infuriated the former minister, leading him to file a Constitutional Court case against Zuma, who was on Friday found guilty of defaming Hanekom in the tweet.
Lawyer for Hanekom’s lawyer Pooja Dela-Cron said her client had accepted Zuma’s apology, which was issued only after the court found him guilty.
Hanekom, however, insisted that Zuma must also pay the US$30,000 penalty for damaging his reputation as proved in his successful lawsuit against the former leader.
“The reason why Mr. Hanekom can safely and comfortably accept the apology (from Zuma) is not because of the form in which the former president has opted to frame the apology (via Twitter),” Dela-Cron said.
She added: “Rather, it is a fact, that the highest court in this country — including the Constitutional Court — have said to the former president that what you have said is false and defamatory.”
“What you have done is unlawful and your conduct falls far off the constitutional standards. So it’s on that basis that Mr. Hanekom accepted the apology,” the lawyer said.
NM/jn/APA