The Equality Court in Pretoria ruled in favour of former South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni on Wednesday in a discrimination case brought against him by businessman Mario Pretorius.
The court ruled that the utterances made at a shareholder meeting were nothing more than a storm in a teacup.
Magistrate Siva Padayachee said Mboweni’s statement during a September 2008 shareholder meeting — that Pretorius should not speak to him the way white people used to speak to black people in the past — did not constitute racism.
“The court finds that the utterance was spontaneous, reactionary and was off the cuff, and was according to objective standards a genuine expression of dismay at being spoken to in a fashion that was rude or condescending.
“The utterance was, in the opinion of the court, not designed to label the complainant, Mr Pretorius, a racist or take liberties with Pretorius’s dignity.”
Pretorius took Mboweni to court for what he alleged were racist comments made during the shareholder meeting in September 2008, contending they amounted to hate speech and were unfair and discriminatory.
He dismissed arguments that Mboweni’s statement was triggered by his “rude behaviour”, saying his use of the word “sir” indicated he was being respectful.
During the 2008 meeting, another shareholder, Michael Duerr, called a point of order, which Mboweni rejected, prompting Pretorius to call out “shocking, sir, shocking”.
Mboweni retorted: “I shall not permit you to talk to me like whites used to talk to blacks.”
Pretorius said his understanding of the statement was that “I was insulting him”.
Padayachee dismissed Pretorius’s complaint and ordered that both he and Mboweni pay their own legal costs.
Speaking outside the court Pretorius said he was “deeply disappointed”.
“The court made a ruling that it was a storm in a teacup, but it was my teacup,” said Pretorius. — Sapa