Convicted of repeatedly injuring the dignity of black police officials in a foul-mouthed racist rant – and sentenced to a landmark two-year jail term – estate agent Vicki Momberg is set to make legal history yet again.
She’s won the right to appeal both her conviction and sentence in the Johannesburg High Court, meaning that, once this case is decided by that court, it will set a precedent for sentencing in other crimen injuria cases.
But Momberg will also tread new legal ground in terms of her conviction appeal. She will argue that she was wrongly convicted because she was temporarily insane when she used the k-word more than 40 times, marking the first time that temporary insanity has been used to defend racist language in the high court.
As a result of this appeal, the Momberg case could set a precedent not only for the sentencing of people who use racist slurs, but also for the kinds of defences they may raise to explain their conduct.
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