News24 reports that the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has been ordered by the Gauteng High Court to pay R990,000 in damages to its former sports commentator Pieter van den Berg, who was falsely accused of racism.  

Trade union Solidarity, which represented Van den Berg, described the judgment as a "huge victory", as their client was a "respected broadcaster of integrity" who had lost his job simply because a colleague leveled false accusations against him.  A technical controller made the accusations against Van den Berg after he asked the controller to "do his work correctly" following the broadcast of a Super Rugby game in May 2016.  The head of labour law services at Solidarity, Anton van der Bijl, said the trade union had gone to the high court to sue the national broadcaster on behalf of its member for loss of income.  "There was about another year left on Mr Van den Berg's contract and, as such, he has suffered a huge loss of income," Van der Bijl said.  He added that racism should not be looked for where it did not exist.  A SABC spokesperson said they were currently studying the judgment and would only comment after that.

• Read Pelane Phakgadi’s report on this story in full at News24
• Read Solidarity’s press statement in this regard at Solidarity News

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