Influencer Dominic Zaca has a zero tolerance for cyber bullies and has made it her mission to expose those who make homophobic slurs on her social media by outing them to their employers.
Zaca, who has appeared on the Moja Love LGBTQIA+ reality show The Way Ngingakhona, said she had last month reported one of her tormentors to his employer.
“This gentleman [made] a homophobic slur in Zulu against me on TikTok and I was offended so I responded by making a video in which I said: 'I know where you work and it will take me all of 20 minutes to get there, so you better apologise now.' But he continued to swear and so I blocked him and screenshot his messages and sent them to his employer,” Zaca told the Sunday Times.
Zaca, who is active on numerous platforms and has a huge following, uses social media to educate and create awareness of LGBTQIA+ issues and said she was regularly targeted by homophobic people.
She said the man had been wearing company overalls in his videos, some of which were recorded on company premises. In its response, which the Sunday Times has seen, the company said the cyber bully had been subcontracted from May 2022 to May 2023 and that it was “committed to fostering diversity and inclusivity by creating a work environment that is inclusive”.
“I then reached out to all the other factories in the area that take on subcontractors to make them aware of this individual. They responded by saying they would not take him on as it would pose a safety issue to their LGBTQIA+ staff members,” Zaca said.
“So my message to the homophobes is: 'I don't need your approval to exist, and if your opinion is superior to your income and you have a job, I will take it from you.'”
The fightback against cyber bullies took a step forward in the courtroom this week when author and media personality Jackie Phamotse was found guilty in the Randburg magistrate's court on four charges including defamation, crimen injuria and violating a protection order in her case against media mogul Basetsana Kumalo.
The matter revolved around a 2018 Twitter post by Phamotse about an alleged gay sex tape involving Kumalo and her husband, Romeo.
During the trial Kumalo spent five days in the witness box testifying about the harm the tweet caused. Despite a protection order taken out by the Kumalos, Phamotse had taken her offensive allegations further in a book titled I Tweet What I Like So ... Sue Me!
Senior prosecutor Yusuf Baba had in 2018 won a three-year prison sentence for racist Vicki Momberg. She was convicted on four counts of crimen injuria for racially abusing a police officer in 2016.
I reached out to all the factories in the area that take on subcontractors to make them aware of this individual.
— Influencer Dominic Zaca
In her 25-page judgment this week, magistrate Saras Naidoo said: “The court finds that Ms Phamotse's conduct was so reprehensible that it would offend the feelings of any reasonable person.”
“At the moment we are just being a family without the pain that we have suffered for the first time in years,” Basetsana told the Sunday Times, adding that she would speak more fully about their ordeal after taking some time to “reflect on the past years of pain”.
Also this week, seven men were arrested at the Denver hostel, east of Johannesburg, for allegedly using Grindr, an online dating app for the LGBTQIA+ community, to lure an 18-year-old Wits student.
Police said the kidnappers had demanded a R30,000 ransom from his family for his return.
A multidisciplinary police team traced the student to the hostel, where he was found bound and unconscious on Wednesday, a day after his kidnapping.
The breakthrough came when an ATM on the M2 was identified at which one of the suspects was expected to withdraw the ransom money. He was arrested as soon as he arrived and agreed to show officers where the victim was being held captive.
All seven will be charged with kidnapping and extortion.
Police said the suspects are being linked to at least 86 cases in which members of the LGBTQIA+ community were targeted for ransom payments.
Human rights lobby group Access Chapter 2 said it was concerned about the increase in criminals targeting the LGBTQIA+ community on online dating apps.
Social media law expert Emma Sadleir Berkowitz said she applauded Kumalo “because I know how much it cost her and how long it took. But the more people of influence go this route, the better it is for the bullied teenager with suicidal ideation because it gives them the message that there is something that can be done about it,” she said.
Sadleir Berkowitz said cyberbullying was extremely harmful because of its public nature, but there were good remedies in South Africa to combat it.
The legal mechanisms, depending on the nature and form of the bullying, included charges of crimen injuria for infringed dignity, defamation, a protection order or a new offence under the Cybercrimes Act.
She warned of the new “danger” posed by social media platform X (previously Twitter) when the platform recently removed users' ability to block bullies.
“Blocking is always my first recommendation, followed by a cease-and-desist letter and then legal action. I am not going to recommend the use of any platform where people are allowed to bully,” she said.
Phomotse will be back in court on October 24 for a pre-sentence and correctional service report.
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