The Dikoko Case
2006
Dikoko vs Mokhatla
Parliamentary privilege
A political leader in the Limpopo Provincial Government unjustly blamed an administrator for failures of government. The administrator sued for defamation and was awarded R110,000 damages. In separate judgments Justices Mokgoro and Sachs both invoked restorative justice principles of African traditional law to hold that money awards in defamation cases should give way to an approach based on apology and restoration of the dignity of the defamed person.
