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A man who shouted the word N near the former international rugby international Ugo monye rugby international after a match was found not guilty of an offense to public order.
Angus Beukes, 32, from South Africa, comments on the Sandy Park Stadium in Exeter after the Chiefs played Gloucester on November 19, 2023.
The chiefs apologized to Mony following the incident, which was the subject of an investigation by Devon and the Cornwall police. In a statement published at the time, Rugby Football Union said it was “dismayed” by what happened and promised his “full support” to Mr. Monye.
Friday, the Exeter first instance court heard that Monye commented on Prime Minister’s match and left to catch his taxi for the station around 5 p.m.
The former player of his player who became a brief described hearing a man with a South African accent repeatedly uses the word n, leaving him “extremely shocked”.
Beukes, a mechanic who represented himself in court via a video link from South Africa, denied an accusation of harassment, alarm or racial aggravated distress.
He insisted that he had spoken to a friend, who is also South African, and the word N-MOT is acceptable in their country of origin.
The magistrates recognized him not guilty of the accusation, concluding that the prosecutors had not proven that Beukes, who is of mixed race, knew that the word was offensive in Great Britain.
The president of judge Paul Doyle said that the “key point” was whether Beukes wanted her actions to be threatening, abusive or insulting and if he knew they could have been.
“As evidence, we have heard that the use of the word n was addressed to your friend,” the judge told Beukes. “We also heard that there was no general socialization outside the South African community with which you shared a house while you are in the United Kingdom at the time you were here.
“We have heard a number of independent witnesses. The majority of these have agreed that the use of the word na was used for your friend to prevent her from using her phone.
“The proof of Mr. Monye is that the word NA was used several times, which also followed when he has piled up with you and while you run away.”
Doyle said that Beukes had only been in the United Kingdom for six months at the time of the offense and that the question of the bench was whether it had realized that the word was offensive in British culture during this period.
“He is on the accusation to show us that it was,” he added. “We note that they have not demonstrated this beyond reasonable doubt.
“As these elements have not been fully proven to a satisfactory standard, we find you not guilty of the offense.”
The prosecution, Maree Doyle read declarations of witnesses, including monye, describing how a man with a South African accent shouted the word n while the crowd left the stadium.
In a press release, Mony said: “I felt immediately shocked by that because the word is extremely offensive. I heard the word again that the male went before me. The male stood in front of me and repeated the word again.
“My first thought was that it should be drunk to shout this word in public. I had a bag on my shoulder. I dropped him to the ground to challenge his behavior.
“I said,” Dude, you can’t say that “. I grabbed her at the top of his jacket. We were somehow jostled, but that was not becoming more physical than that. I expected him to apologize. He just seemed to double. »»
Mony said that the supporters separated the two men and that he asked someone to take a photo of Beukes, but no one did. He alleged that Beukes again repeated the racial insult before fleeing.
“He said it, looking at me in the eye,” added Mony.
In evidence, Beukes said he was invited to the match by friends and attended a colleague, also from South Africa.
He insisted that the word n has “no significant meaning” in South Africa and that he did not know that he was offensive before the reaction of mye.
“In South Africa, we reprimand ourselves like that,” added Beukes. “In my country, it means nothing. He makes no sense. »»
Beukes told court that he had used the word n once to his friend, saying “my word n, put your phone away” as it caused a bottleneck in the queue of fans waiting to leave the stadium.
