Chester won, Hofmeyr zero

Comedic puppet Chester Missing had the last laugh yesterday in a courtroom show that left the magistrate unamused.

Afrikaner activist Dan Roodt failed in his bid to have declared final an interim protection order against Missing puppet master, comedian and satirical ventriloquist Conrad Koch that prohibited him from "harassing" Afrikaans musician Steve Hofmeyr.

The battle in the Randburg Magistrate's Court followed a Twitter war between Missing and Hofmeyr after the latter tweeted that "blacks were the architects of apartheid".

Hofmeyr was not in court yesterday but took to Twitter shortly after the verdict was given to make a couple of controversial remarks.

"Die einde van vryheid van uitdrukking. Die media is darem volgende (The end of freedom of expression. The media are next)," he tweeted.

He later accused the magistrate of bias.

But his most controversial tweet was posted hours earlier when he said: "Om teen apartheid (in sy geheel) te wees is om VIR meer verkragtings teen wit vroue te wees Ek is teen MR skendings (To be against apartheid, in its totality, is to be FOR more rapes of white women. I am against human rights violations)."

Roodt told the court that Missing was "obsessed" with Hofmeyr, who was "out there quite alone". He said the spat was a "Marxist, leftist conspiracy" and that Hofmeyr was "just a concerned citizen" who had been subjected to a "vicious attack".

He said yesterday that Hofmeyr had received death threats "because of Koch's incitement".

Dismissing Roodt's application as "unreasonable and fictitious", magistrate Naren Sewnarain set aside the interim protection order.