Question

At 8pm on a Friday night, Lincoln, a Fauna resident, lights an old paraffin lamp as he has no electricity
due to scheduled load-shedding of electricity. Lincoln leaves the old paraffin lamp burning in his
bedroom with the bedroom window open and proceeds to spend the next half hour in the
neighbouring bedroom reading his son a bedtime story. A strong draft of wind blows the lamp over. As
a result of this a fire starts and spreads rapidly, engulfing his house and spreading to his neighbour’s
house. Penny [his neighbour] was holding a party when the flames engulfed her house. Penny’s house
is also destroyed in the fire. Richard [her husband] who was in the toilet at the time the fire broke out,
runs out of the house, undressed. Neo then takes a video of Richard running naked and sends it to his
friends. The following day Richard finds out almost everyone in Fauna has seen the video. Richard feels
utterly humiliated says that: "I honestly felt like just sitting in my house and not coming out. I want to
crawl into a hole." Amanda, a university lecturer who was also one of Penny’s guests succumbs to burn
wounds.
Sarah, Amanda’s daughter working in Durban, hears of the news about the fire and mother’s death
and is so shocked thatshe later suffers from catastrophic neurosis and is unable to work for 15 months.
Some 2 years earlier, Sarah had been a voluntary patient at a mental hospital, where she had been
treated for a neurotic condition. Lethula, Penny’s other guest, is shocked at what he sees happening
at Penny’s house and as a result suffers from extreme grief and later needs extensive psychiatric
counselling to overcome his post-traumatic stress disorder caused by what he witnessed. Richard wants to sue Neo for defamation. Set out whether Richard’s claim meets the essential
requirements for defamation. Are there any possible defences that Neo can raise?
Substantiate your answer with reference to case law.