> The Prevention and Combatting of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act 16 of 2023 (“Hate Speech Act”) was recently signed into law by the President, however, it has not come into effect yet.

>   The Hate Speech Act was drafted to address and lessen the issues surrounding hate crimes and hate speech in the country. 

>   The Hate Speech Act aims to criminalise hate crimes and hate speech that are usually motivated by prejudice which is more often associated with a person's race, religion, political association/status and so on. It should also be noted that gender, sexual orientation and gender expression are considered to be grounds on which hate crimes and hate speech can be based upon.

>   Once in effect, the Hate Speech Act aims to provide for the reporting on the implementation and application of this Act. This means that further guidelines will be provided for on how to report the crime, when to report the crime and the process that will be taken for the consequence if found guilty of an offence under the Hate Speech Act. 

>   It is also important to note that the Hate Speech Act still considers section 16 of the Constitution, which allows a person to practice their right to free speech provided that it does not promote or incite any kind of hate speech.