Dewani: Robbie off the hook

British businessman Shrien Dewani was cleared of the honeymoon murder of his wife Anni, but there was nothing wrong with radio host John Robbie labelling him "guilty as hell" before that.

That was the decision of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) last week after a listener complained about Robbie's comment on air on 702 in December last year.

A few days before the charges against Dewani were dismissed in the Cape Town High Court, Robbie said: “Right from the start I smelt a rat and I think he is guilty as hell...but obviously it has to do with legal procedures.”

The listener was so disgruntled with Robbie's “atrociously biased viewpoint” that he complained the BCCSA.

But the commission dismissed his complaint, stating that the Dewani matter has become a matter of public interest, adding that it is “permissible to have a view” even before the court has reached an outcome.

The commission pointed out that it was not a defamation case, because such a complaint could only have been brought by Dewani himself. It that had been the case, the result may have been different, it said.

The radio station said that Robbie's comment was clearly an “honest expression of opinion” and based on facts, which was allowed by the Broadcasting Code.

The listener, quoting a dictionary definition of the word "fact", said he did not believe that Robbie's comment was based on fact.

He said: “I would like to know exact FACTS the presenter used to form his opinion (sic).

“I would be interested to know why the court did not take such FACTS into account when forming the judgment. Or perhaps Mr Robbie had access to FACTS which the court was not aware of.”

He added: “The comment was not based on fact, but on emotion and tabloid-fuelled hearsay.”

The BCCSA held that Robbie was entitled to expressing his opinion, even if it was later contradicted by the court.

“The facts, as held by the Court, however, turned out to contradict the opinion of Mr Robbie, but he was, nevertheless, entitled in terms of ... the Code to express a view on what he sincerely seemed to perceive the facts to be,” said Commissioner Jacobus van Rooyen.

The listener, identified only as Philip, could not be reached for comment.

The radio station 702 had not responded to requests for comment by the time of going to print.