Taking on the giant of an industry that is Google is not something one does without good cause. Famous people’s poet, Mzwakhe Mbuli, told DRUM that he is suing the conglomerate on the grounds of defamation of character, citing violation of section 10 of the constitution. Mbuli claims that if one searches for famous people living with HIV, you will find a picture of him and an artIcle stating that he is HIV positive.
When Mbuli was told about the article by some friends he decided to find out if it was true. He says by posting an article that profiles him as being HIV positive, Google is violating his right to human dignity. He told DRUM that he currently has a clean bill of health.
He subsequently contacted his advocate, Mphafolane Jerry Koma, to discuss the matter. His advocate has confirmed that in addition to suing for defamation, he is entitled to sue for violation of section 14 of the constitution which deals with one’s right to privacy.
Mbuli says he wants to send a strong warning to companies like Google about the dangers of spreading unsubstantiated rumours. Advocate Koma went on to explain that although the search engine did not pen the article, they do have a responsibility to fact check what they post. There has been no response over the allegations thus far from the Google camp.
