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Litigating Honor, Defamation, and Shame in Southern Rhodesia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2018

Allison K. Shutt
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Abstract:

This article reviews the history of defamation cases involving Africans in Southern Rhodesia. Two precedent-setting cases, one in 1938 and the other in 1946, provided a legal rationale for finding defamation that rested on the ability of litigants to prove they had been shamed. The testimony and evidence of these cases, both of which involved government employees, tracks how colonial rule was altering hierarchy and changing definitions of honor, often to the bewilderment of the litigants themselves. Importantly, both cases concluded that African employees of the state deserved special protection from defamation. The article then traces how the rules and ambiguities resulting from the legal logic of the 1938 and 1946 cases gave a wider group of litigants such as clerks, police, clergy, and teachers room to maneuver in the courtroom where they also claimed their professional honor. Such litigants perfectly understood the expectations of the court and performed accordingly by recounting embarrassing, even painful, experiences, all to validate their personal and professional honor in court. Such performances raise the question of how we might use court records to write a history of the emotional costs to people who used astute strategies that rested on dishonorable revelations to win their cases.

Résumé:

Cet article examine l’histoire de plusieurs procès en diffamation qui impliquent des Africains en Rhodésie du Sud. Deux procès, qui ont créé des précédents, l’un en 1938 et l’autre en 1946, ont fourni une justification juridique pour constater la diffamation qui reposait sur la capacité des plaignants à prouver qu’ils avaient été humiliés. Témoignage et pièce justificative de ces procès, qui impliquaient des employés du gouvernement, démontrent les façons dont la règle coloniale modifiait la hiérarchie et les définitions changeantes de l’honneur, souvent à l’extrême surprise des plaideurs eux-mêmes. Ainsi, dans les deux affaires il a été conclu que les fonctionnaires africains méritaient des protections contre la diffamation. L’article démontre ensuite comment la logique juridique des procès de 1938 et 1946 a créé des règles et entrainé certaines ambiguïtés qui ont permis à un groupe plus large de plaideurs tels que les greffiers, la police, le clergé, et les enseignants de pouvoir manœuvrer dans les tribunaux et ainsi avoir la possibilité de revendiquer leur honneur professionnel. Ces plaignants ont parfaitement compris les attentes des tribunaux et se sont exécutés en conséquence, racontant des expériences embarrassantes, voir même douloureuses, tout cela pour valider leur honneur personnel et professionnel lors du procès. De telles prestations peuvent nous aider pour étudier comment nous pourrions utiliser les dossiers judiciaires pour écrire une histoire des coûts émotionnels pour les personnes ayant utilisé des stratégies astucieuses qui reposaient sur des révélations malhonnêtes pour gagner leur procès.

Keywords

defamationhonorshameSouthern Rhodesiacolonial courtslegal strategiesprofessional elite
Type
Forum on Crime and Punishment
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 61 , Issue 3 , September 2018 , pp. 79 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2018 

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