Post something nasty on Facebook and there’s no going back, especially when your follow up ‘apologies’ are a bumbling illustration of your lack of remorse.

Well today, over six months since the former real estate agent shamed herself on social media, she was due her day at KZN’s Umzinto Equality Court. Sparrow was due to appear to face charges of hate speech, but there was only one problem.

Below from News24:

Sparrow’s daughter Charmaine Cowie cut a disheveled figure as she appeared before magistrate Irfaan Khalil on Friday.

“She’s sick with sugar diabetes. She is unable to come to court today because of the stress that this has caused. She tried to get legal counsel but no one will represent her,” she said about her mother.

“I needed to come through today to make an apology and make a postponement so she can find out what she can do to apologise for the comments she made on Facebook. She can’t be present because she fears for her life,” Cowie added.

Well which is it then, sugar diabetes or a fear for her life?

The ANC’s Denzil Potgieter also smells something a little fishy:

“She has done nothing to approach the court and indicate what her attitude is towards the matter, this is not the conduct of a reasonable person who seriously intends to do something about this matter,” he said.

“She [Cowie] says her mother wants to find a way to apologise, and that is one of the items sought in relief of this matter. That she [Sparrow] will never engage in this detestable conduct again.”

He said it appears that there was nothing Sparrow wanted to add to the merits of the case.

“She [Cowie] says the respondent fears for her life, does this mean she will never come to court?” Potgieter asked.

Judge Irfaan Khalil decided that the case would proceed in her absence, where she may have to stump up R200 000 to a charity supporting nonracialism.

UPDATE

The Umzinto Equality Court and Judge Khalil have ruled that Penny Sparrow must pay R150 000 to the Oliver and Adelaide Thambo for her racist comments.

News24 again:

Magistrate Irfaan Khalil said the amount had to payable within 60 days and he interdicted Sparrow from further hate speech. ..

Khalil said in his judgment on Friday: “Her words convey the message both explicitly and implicitly to the reader that black people are not worthy of being described as human beings – implicit in this is that they have lowered or sub-human intelligence.”

[source:news24]