Adam Catzavelos will learn on Friday whether he will spend time behind bars for a racist video that went viral.
Image: ALON SKUY/Sunday Times
Adam Catzavelos, who was convicted of crimen injuria, will learn on Friday whether he will get jail time for his use of the k-word when referring to black people.

He is set to appear in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court.

The Johannesburg businessman shot to fame after he filmed himself referring to black people using the k-word during a holiday in Greece in December 2018. In it, he bragged about there not being a single “k****r in sight” on the beach.

Catzavelos pleaded guilty to, and was convicted of, crimen injuria for the racist rant. He admitted in his plea to using the offensive word and conceded that it impaired the dignity of others.

Earlier this month, Catzavelos expressed remorse for his actions. In mitigation of sentence, he testified he had become a “better” person since doing community service at the Seth Mazibuko Foundation, in Soweto, where he had reportedly completed 100 hours of community service.

Catzavelos said the foundation had taught him a lot about black people’s struggles and had taken him to slain political activist Chris Hani’s grave. He also got to learn about Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko, who died in police custody.

He said he had told the “Gogos” and “Mkhulus” that he worked with, that he would go back to see them even after his community service was over.

Some of the elderly people from the foundation had come to court to support him, saying they had since renamed the reformed man Mxolisi, which means the one who asks for forgiveness.

The foundation’s founder, Seth Mazibuko, described Catzavelos as a “Saul becoming a Paul”.

He said he was initially reluctant to work with Catzavelos.

“It took me time. I asked myself if I want to work with a man whose grandparents might have used the word,” Mazibuko said.

He demonstrated to Catzavelos how he himself was tortured and called the k-word during apartheid. Catzavelos did not know who Steve Biko was before doing community service, Mazibuko said.

Mazibuko told the court that a jail term would not serve any purpose.

“I’d like to use Adam more for reconciliation. I would like to use Adam more to apologise to the people of South Africa,” said Mazibuko.

He said though he had heard about the video, he had not seen it until Catzavelos showed it to him. It made him “angry and bitter”, he said.

Veronica and Robert Sobukwe soon after his release from Robben Island.
Image: Ralph Ndawo © Rand Daily Mail/ Avusa
As South Africans paid tribute to Robert Sobukwe on Thursday, the EFF said the struggle hero’s life was a testimony to peace and unity in Africa.

February 27 marked the 42nd anniversary of Sobukwe’s death. the red berets said they were unashamedly inspired by Sobukwe’s ideas, both as “an intellectual and organiser of people”.

Here are six quotes from the party’s tribute.

Life dedication

“Sobukwe dedicated his entire life to finding solutions which would liberate Africans from all the shackles that sought to bind them and make them subservient in their own land.”

Peace and unity

“His life was a testimony that Africa is a country and only through unity can we solve the immense problems that the people of Africa face. His ideas and influence became a threat to the apartheid government and were subsequently censored.”

Africa not only a geographical location

“As one of the founding fathers of the Pan-Africanist movement in SA, Sobukwe taught us that Africa is not only a geographical location but also a spirit that lives inside us, including those in the diaspora.”

Affirmation

“Sobukwe affirmed that the fight for the land is a noble one, because it is not a fight that is only rooted in history but is one that affects the present and has the potential to determine what the future looks like.”

Continuing the fight

“In line with Sobukwe’s thinking, we as Africans must stick together with the tenacity that will shock the oppressor. His ideas have already laid a foundation for us. The responsibility rests upon us to continue the fight for the complete liberation of Africa.”

Tributes for struggle veteran, teacher and speaker, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, poured in on Thursday as South Africans remembered his contribution in fighting against the oppression of black people under the apartheid regime.

Thursday marked 42 years since his death on February 27 1978.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, the EFF, and Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi were among many South Africans who commemorated his life on social media.

Sobukwe joined the ANC Youth League in 1948 when he was a student at the University of Fort Hare. In 1958, he broke away from the party as it was becoming more multiracial in its membership.

He announced his split from the ANC the following year, during the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) gathering in Orlando. This after he was elected its first president, according to SA History.

Ramaphosa said Sobukwe and other fighters from his generation confronted apartheid and colonialism with a spirit of fearlessness.

In its statement, the EFF attributed its fight for land expropriation to his vision.

“Sobukwe taught us that Africa is not only a geographical location but a spirit that lives inside us, including those in the diaspora.

“He affirmed us that the fight for land is a noble one, because it is not a fight that is only rooted in history, but it is one that affects the present and has the potential to determine what the future looks like.”

Here’s some of the tributes:

Angry residents of Ladysmith, in northern KwaZulu-Natal, embarked on protest action on Wednesday. They gave the government an ultimatum: remove the local mayor or face a total shutdown

According to reports, roads leading in and out of the town were blocked off by protesters calling for the head of Alfred Duma local municipality mayor Vincent Madlala.

Police spokesperson Col Thembeka Mbele said community members had closed off Murchison St with minibus taxis and rocks.

“They handed over the memorandum to the municipality office, demanding that the mayor step down,” said Mbele. Andile Hlatshwayo, a convener of the protest, said residents would embark on a total shutdown of the town on Thursday if the ANC failed to recall Madlala.

“If Madlala is not removed or recalled by the 27th [Thursday], we are going to have a total shutdown. Nothing will be coming in, nothing will be going out of the town of Ladysmith,” he warned.

Hlatshwayo said they would not resort to violence but should the department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) and KZN premier Sihle Zikalala not act on their demands, they were “not going to have them”.

The premier’s spokesperson, Lennox Mabaso, could not be reached for comment.

In May last year, Madlala’s son wasalong with his friend, while a third person was serious injured. Police at the time said two counts of murder were being investigated after Siboniso Mondli Madlala, 28, and his 29-year-old friend were killed.

The tragedy came three months after Oscar Hlatshwayo, 38, an executive director of engineering technical and infrastructure services at Alfred Duma local municipality, was shot several times in an apparent ambush after dropping his children at school.

A security guard was killed in clashes as neighbouring residents tried to force their way into the Coastal Park Landfill Site. Stock photo.
Image: 123RF/Petro Perutskyi
The city of Cape Town said on Wednesday there was no excuse for the violent acts and destruction of public infrastructure leading to the death of a security guard at the Coastal Park Landfill Site near Muizenberg.

The guard was killed last week after three days of “attacks” by members of the surrounding community who wanted to gain entry at the landfill site to salvage waste items of value as a source of income.

However, the city is not legally permitted to allow public access to landfills because of the risk of fatalities and injuries on site.

City authorities condemned the unjustified attacks.

“The city will support the police in every way possible in their task of identifying the guilty parties and having them appropriately charged,” it said.

Community members tried to enter the site on Tuesday last week but staff gained control of the situation and prevented their unlawful entry.

The number of people who wanted to gain entry grew substantially the next day with more than 100 trying to force their way in. The situation became violent when security personnel told them they were breaking the law.

“The group overpowered security staff and gained access to the property. Fires were started at multiple points of the site and weapons were fired at security personnel.

“The situation escalated and a security guard, who was trying to protect the facility, was killed in the line of duty,” the city said.

City law enforcement and police arrested four suspects who were taken to the Muizenberg police station.

The city said the fires remained a challenge, with the most recent one started on Saturday. “Landfill gases are highly flammable and can burn for a long time.”

It said while the fires continued to burn, the situation was being contained and the fires managed through a combined effort by law enforcement, the fire department and solid- waste management staff.

Additional security personnel had been deployed.

The city said the landfill had been the target of a number of attacks in recent years, with damage to compactors and bulldozers being more than R5m by October 2019.

The cost of damage to assets and infrastructure during the latest attack is yet to be quantified.