GEORGE NEWS FLASH - Outeniqua Primary School was acquitted of all forms of racism in the Equality Court in George today by Magistrate Thomas Claassen.
A case of racial discrimination against the school was lodged by Cornelius Esau, a father of a 12-year old Grade 7 pupil on Friday 17 April 2015 after she was not appointed a prefect at the school this year.
When delivering his verdict, Magistrate Thomas Claassen quoted extensively from the preamble to the Constitution and from Chapter 2 of the Constitution, The Bill of Rights, which deals with equality:
Chapter 2 (9)(3) The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth. (4) No person may unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds in terms of subsection (3). National legislation must be enacted to prevent or prohibit unfair discrimination. (5) Discrimination on one or more of the grounds listed in subsection (3) is unfair unless it is established that the discrimination is fair.
The magistrate added that there was no precedent for this case. He said that Esau did not have “concrete evidence that the school manipulated the results to exclude his daughter as a prefect,” saying there was no racial meddling.
Claassen stated that Esau’s case was built solely on the fact that his daughter had told the family last year that in the election for full prefects by her fellow Grade 6 students coupled with the votes of last year’s prefects, she had attained the most votes. This information wasn’t verified by a third party.
Claasseen had harsh words for Esau regarding a letter that he wrote to Angie Motshekga, the Minister of Basic Education regarding this incident warning him that certain references to the use “of the H word” is not acceptable today.
Headmaster of Outeniqua Primary, Johan Smit said that he is satisfied with the outcome and will discuss the matter with the School Governing Body first before elaborating on the matter.
A bitterly disappointed Esau, at times looking dejected in court, said “I was in a ‘White Man’s Court’ today, I will take this matter on appeal, it is not over.”
Cornelius Esau in an interview outside the court.
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