Guesthouse owner fined R50 000 for hate speech

RACIST guesthouse owner Andre Slade and his Slovakian partner‚ Katarina Krizaniova‚ have been slapped with a R50 000 fine by the Ubombo Equality Court for hate speech.

Magistrate Thamo Moodley handed down a scathing judgment on Tuesday‚ ordering that the 55-year-old guesthouse owner and his lover pay penance to a non-profit organisation based in Mtubatuba, northern KwaZuluNatal.

Slade made headlines in 2016 when he sent an e-mail barring black people from his Sodwana Bay guesthouse.

He and Krizaniova sparked further outrage when he justified the ban on racist grounds – in various media interviews – stating that “God’s word” said whites were superior‚ that blacks were classified in the Bible as “animals”‚ and that whites had a “crown” on their heads that blacks did not have.

This prompted an equality court bid by the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Tourism. The organisations wanted an apology from Slade and his comments to be classified as “hate speech”.

Moodley‚ in his judgment‚ said Slade was protected by the constitution to express himself freely‚ but such freedom was confined because it incited violence or hatred.

He said Slade’s denigrating comments about black people‚ such as saying they were regarded as animals or servants‚ only served to stir up emotions of hatred between blacks and whites.

“They are catalysts for the incitement of violence not only towards him but also towards innocent whites‚” he said.

Moodley said Slade’s practices‚ beliefs‚ comments and conduct were all inconsistent with the vision of the constitution.

“Mr Slade has shown no remorse or any regrets by his racist remarks. He has become so imbibed in his religious beliefs that he does not feel that he has said or done anything wrong.”

Slade said that an appeal against the judgment would be “too costly”.