Cape Town Anti-LGBTQ+ Politician Sentenced to 90 Days in Jail

Notoriously queerphobic Cape Town politician Mehmet Vefa Dag will reportedly spend 90 days in jail for contempt of court in a defamation case.

According to News24, Dag landed in legal trouble over his social media posts targeting Curro Holdings, the private school company.

False Allegations and Calls for Action

Dag was dragged to court after alleging links between Curro and Jaco Pieterse, a school principal falsely accused of rape, as well as Darren Wilken, an accused child pornographer. He further urged his supporters to “take action and close down all Curro institutions nationwide immediately.”

In April, the Western Cape High Court ordered Dag to stop publishing untrue and defamatory content about the company and to remove the offending posts from social media.

Repeated Defiance of Court Orders

Dag was found in contempt of court on 5 May after posting another post slating Curro. He was given a suspended sentence, conditional on compliance with the court order. However, on 28 May, he was again found in contempt.

As a result, the court ordered Dag to surrender himself within five days to begin serving his 90-day jail sentence.

Dag Claims Political Persecution

In response, Dag described himself on social media as a “political prisoner”, “the new Mandela,” and “the real president of South Africa.”

“South Africa has now started to play with stones,” he ranted on X. “You will not be able to prevent this by throwing me in prison. Now, thieves should truly fear the Truth and Solidarity Movement.”

Dag, who is Turkish-born and leads the obscure Truth and Solidarity Movement Party, first gained public attention in 2023 when he threatened to vandalise Cape Town’s rainbow pedestrian crossing.

Anti-LGBTQ Hate and Public Response

Dag also attacked Woolworths over its Pride campaign at the time, tweeting: “Woolworths has publicly declared it’s a f*g’s paradise, shame on you.”

Despite calling on supporters to help him deface the rainbow crossing with black paint, not a single person turned up. Instead, members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies – some in drag – gathered to stand against his hate-fuelled rhetoric.

Dag’s homophobic posts have garnered thousands of views and likes, amplifying his hateful message and increasing his online visibility.

As Pride Month began this week, Dag continued his tirade against the LGBTQ+ community. On X, he referred to an LGBTQ-affirming church as “a synagogue of Satan” and praised a photo featuring a banner that read, “F*ck LGBT.”