South Africa Case Law

Mohamed and Another v Jassiem (201/1992)

Mohamed and Another v Jassiem (201/1992) [1995] ZASCA 115; 1996 (1) SA 673 (SCA); (26 September 1995)

Court

Supreme Court of Appeal

Case number

201/1992

Judges

Hoexter, Smalberger, Steyn, Marais, Schutz

The Supreme Court of Appeal held that the words uttered by Nazim in the Wynberg mosque were defamatory of Jassiem within the Western Cape Muslim community, a substantial and respectable segment of South African society. The court affirmed that segmental defamation is actionable in South African law. The defence of qualified privilege was rejected because Nazim spoke prematurely, without proper investigation or compliance with Islamic procedural requirements for declaring apostasy, and the occasion was not privileged. The court found that Jassiem had proved he was accepted as a Muslim within t…

Source excerpt

• Defamation
• Qualified Privilege
• Segmental Defamation
• Onus Of Proof
• Damages For Defamation