Concourt rules DA’s ‘Zuma stole’ SMS within the law

The DA was not at fault when it sent an SMS to more than 1.5 million potential voters claiming President Jacob Zuma “stole your money to build his R246-million home”.

This was the majority ruling by the Constitutional Court yesterday when it upheld an appeal by the party against an Electoral Court ruling that the SMS it sent out a few weeks before last year’s May 7 elections was “false and inaccurate”.

The SMS read: “The Nkandla report shows how Zuma stole your money to build his R246-million home. Vote DA on 7 May to beat corruption. Together for change.”

It referred to the report of Public Protector Thuli Madonsela into the security upgrades at Zuma’s Nkandla home in KwaZulu-Natal.

After the SMS was sent out, the ANC asked the Johannesburg High Court to order the DA to apologise and retract its statement in the SMS. It said the DA had contravened the Electoral Act and Electoral Code of Conduct.

The court dismissed the ANC’s application and found the SMS was fair comment.

However, the Electoral Court upheld an appeal by the ANC and ordered the DA to retract its statement in an SMS to the same recipients.

In a joint judgment, justices Edwin Cameron, Johan Froneman and Sisi Khampepe found the SMS was “designed to influence voters’ views about the president and his party”.

Therefore, the DA’s message was not covered by the section of the Electoral Act that prohibits false statements, the judges said. — jordaann@timesmedia.co.za