Unprecedented Moment Judge Quotes AKA & K.O.’s “Run Jozi” Lyrics In Defamation Ruling

A judge quoting a musician is certainly nothing novel in music – except in this case, it happened in South Africa, a country where such has not happened before. Not surprisingly, it snagged attention across the country.

The scene was the courtroom and Magistrate Katlego Mokoena was ruling in the defamation case between Pastor Mark Le Roux and SPCA Chief Inspector Jaco Pieterse. The presiding magistrate went beyond the letters of the law, quoting AKA’s verse in the “Run Jozi,” a  joint tune with K.O.

In the judgement, the magistrate noted how social media and people’s everyday lives have become intertwined and how people are often consumed by the desire to post anything and everything. He’d followed that up with AKA’s verse: “Next thing you know your career is over ntwana, over some characters, it’s the juxtaposition of choosing stupidity over intelligence.”

It was an unprecedented move that reverberated across South Africa and also thrust the magistrate’s name into several publications across the country.

If nothing else, the quote shows the impact of the song from which it was quoted and how relevant it remains years after it was released. Sadly, AKA isn’t alive to witness this great moment, having been assassinated by a point-blank shot to the head on February 10.

You can check out “Run Jozi” below.