Sparrow fine payments eased
ANC accepts fact that she is destitute
THE ANC in KwaZuluNatal is unimpressed with the new court adjustment to controversial South Coast resident Penny Sparrow’s R150 000 fine payment plan, but said it would accept it.
In an affidavit submitted by Gwede Mantashe, the ANC secretary-general, he said he accepted that Sparrow was destitute.
Sparrow had appealed to the uMzinto Equality Court, sitting at the Scottburgh Magistrate’s Court yesterday, to pay the R150 000 fine for her racist comments over a two-year period instead of 60 days.
The ANC in KZN had taken Sparrow to the Equality Court last year, following her Facebook tirade, where she referred to black people as monkeys, a post in which she complained about litter on Durban beaches in January 2016.
Magistrate Irfaan Khalil granted Sparrow’s application, saying the fine would be deferred for a period of two years without accruing interest, and during this time the ANC would review Sparrow’s ability to make the payment.
According to Mantashe’s affidavit, he said “while being mindful of the abhorrent conduct of the respondent (Sparrow)‚ we accept her financial position currently is dire, and it is on this basis that we consent to vary the court order”.
Mdumiseni Ntuli, the ANC provincial spokesperson, said the R150 000 fine initially imposed on Sparrow had not been satisfactory to the ANC, but the party had to live with it because the court had applied its mind to come to that conclusion.
“In our view discrimination on the basis of race is something very serious, and we don’t believe that people should be fined money to pay for that crime; it’s a crime they should be arrested for,” Ntuli said.
He said the party had not supported the fine in the form of money because they had argued “this was a person who did not belong among our people”, and felt she should have been “arrested in the first place”.
Comfort
He added that what gave the party a “sense of comfort” was that the amount Sparrow had to pay had not been changed.
“Of course it is expected that when a monetary fine has been imposed on an individual there may be conditions which, according to the court, justifies the inability of the individual to pay the money within a prescribed duration.
“If the court is of that view we don’t think that it is a problem. We were only going to have a problem if it decided to amend the amount of money that was due,” Ntuli said.
He said it was immaterial that payment of the fine was delayed by 24 months, because what was important was that the sentence was imposed and the sentence had to be carried through.
Zwakele Mncwango, DA provincial leader, said he would not comment on the matter of an individual who was not a member of the party, despite her making those comments while she was a DA member.
“She was a DA member when she commented, but now she is not. Remember, we removed her, so why would I comment?
“The law has taken its course and every individual has the right to appeal, and if she appealed and the court ruled in her favour, then we must respect the process of the court,” Mncwango said.
Joshua Mazibuko, IFP national deputy spokesperson, said the IFP was committed to respecting the judiciary, although they may not agree with some of the verdicts.