A civil court’s finding of contempt – even if accompanied by a sanction such as a fine or imprisonment – does not constitute a criminal conviction under the Criminal Procedure Act, reports the Cape Times.

This was the finding of the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) after hair brand Native Child earlier won its case against social media influencer, Mary Oluwatobiloba Akinwale.

She was ordered to remove social media posts regarding the brand.

Akinwale did not totally adhere to the order and Native Child returned to court to hold her in contempt. The business complained Akinwale badmouthed it on social media.

It first went to court in 2023 after Akinwale, who worked for the company for a short while, made a series of videos and posts, accusing it of unethical conduct and mistreatment.

Akinwale is said to have more than 108 000 social media followers across Instagram, TikTok and X.

It claimed she urged followers to harass the applicant on its social media pages, encouraged them to repost her defamatory posts and told them to visit its retail clients to tell them to stop selling the applicant’s products.

The company maintained her statements were false and damaging to its reputation.

In 2023, the court ordered Akinwale to remove all defamatory content and stop publishing anything about the company and its owners, reports the Cape Times.

Native Child, however, claimed she continued to post and returned to court to hold her in contempt of court. It also asked for an order that the SAPS note she is ‘guilty of the crime of contempt’ and to ensure this is ‘recorded in her criminal record’.

It also wanted her to face a 30-day prison sentence.

Acting Judge Karin Strydom said: ‘The applicant treated the contempt proceedings as if they were a criminal trial … I was very troubled by the idea that my findings could result in a young student having a criminal conviction on record for the next 10 years.’

She concluded that civil contempt proceedings remain within the civil jurisdiction and the use of criminal terminology such as ‘conviction’ or ‘sentence’ does not transform the nature of the proceedings.

Strydom found Akinwale to be in contempt of the 2023 order but said any punishment should stay within the civil framework.

Full Cape Times report