Speaking before members of the Free State Legislature, spokesperson Thabo Meeko says they welcome the Bloemfontein High Court’s judgment in a defamation lawsuit against them. He says the statement regarded by the DA leader in the Free State Legislature, Roy Jankielsohn, as racial slurs were political and the party should have resolved the matter politically in the House, instead of running to the courts. Meeko’s statement comes just days after Judge Johann Daffue found the ANC Youth League in the province guilty and ordered them to cover the legal costs of the defamation suit. The defamatory statements made by the Youth League were made in 2017 in response to comments the DA made regarding former Free State Premier Ace Magashule’s Honourary Doctorate awarded by a private educational institution, the Bahçesehir University, in Turkey.

The opposition party questioned the legitimacy of the honorary doctorate, alleging the tertiary institution where thousands of Free State Medicine students are studying, received approximately R32 million from the Free State Government before awarding Magashule with the honorary doctorate.

OFM News previously reported that Jankielsohn said the ANCYL responded to these allegations by making derogatory comments about him in public spaces, where they alleged he was a clown, a redneck, a racist, and a Chihuahua.

Meeko further told the House that they are still studying the contents of the judgment and will soon issue a comprehensive response.

He said at this stage they firmly believe that “the issue was a political issue and was supposed to be wrestled out in a political arena. We view this as an abuse of courts and an abuse of our democratic institutions. Instead of political organisations engaging in political debates, they chicken out and run to the courts to prosecute political issues.”

OFM News