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Convicted fraudster Kessie Nair, who was arrested by the Hawks following a racist rant on social media, has been denied bail and will remain in custody at Westville Prison.
Nair was arrested last month by the Hawks following a self-filmed video in which he referred to President Cyril Ramaphosa as the “K word”. He had posted the video to Facebook, and it gained momentum fast.
The former Durban councillor and businessman, who was charged with six counts of crimen injuria and two counts of incitement of public violence, appeared in the Verulam Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
During Nair’s last court appearance, his mental capacity to undergo court proceedings was questioned; when the district surgeon who had examined him said that he was “delusional”. His family, who had distanced themselves from his actions had told authorities that Nair has had a history of mental illness.
In the video, Nair had accused Ramaphosa of the high levels of crime and corruption that the country is currently seeing, and urged him to take action. He also said that he was willing to go to prison for his words.
Last month, during a brief adjournment at his bail application appearance, he apologised for his words, and asked the public to forgive him.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to publicly apologise to the state president, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, and to the nation as a whole. I’m not a racist,” he said.
Magistrate Ncumisa Gcolotela said that Nair lacked remorse and that he had failed to grasp the magnitude of his actions. She said that his release may lead to “public disorder” if he was granted bail. The case has been postponed to October 24.
