Sentencing is expected to be handed down on Friday morning in the crimen injuria case of businessman Adam Catzavelos in the Randburg Magistrates’ Court.
Catzavelos pleaded guilty to crimen injuria in December last year, following two unsuccessful bids to have the charges withdrawn. The case follows a self-recorded video of Catzavelos in which he utters the K-word multiple times, while on holiday in Greece in August 2018. In the video, he is seen celebrating the absence of black people on the beach.
In the video below, the South African Human Rights Commission investigates Catzavelos’s racist rant
During sentencing proceedings earlier this month, Catzavelos said that making the video of his racist rant is the most disgusting thing he has ever done and he is deeply ashamed. He went on to say that he is deeply remorseful for his actions and he was a broken man at the time when the video was made.
Adam Catzavelos issues a public apology
However, the Economic Freedom Fighters’ Gauteng Chairperson Mandisa Mashego appealed to the court to sentence him to no less than 10 years in prison for his racist rant. In August, Catzavelos reached a settlement agreement with the South African Human Rights Commission in another case relating to the video. He was ordered to pay a fine of R150 000.
