A LANDLORD who launched a racially-motivated tirade against one of his tenants has been ordered to shell out €15,000 in compensation.
Martin Fleming has had to pay the maximum compensation allowed under the Equal Status Act for race-based harassment to Congolese tenant Wally Nkikita.
A court has heard that Mr Fleming had been embroiled in a number of circumstances where he subjected Mr Nkikita to foul-mouthed racist abuse.
It was reported that Mr Fleming referred to Mr Nkikita as "a black p***k, a black f***ker, a black c**t".
The tenant managed to take a video recording of a particular torrent of abuse suffered at the hands of Mr Fleming.
Evidence presented claimed that the landlord physically assaulted Mr Nkikita with a brush, and once he was made aware that the altercation had been recorded, Fleming is believed to have told Nkikita that he could "play the recording next to his flute in the Congo next week".
The court heard that Mr Nkikita had approached Mr Fleming a number of times regarding broken fixtures in the property, including a broken toilet and fire alarm.
After asking him to fix the toilet on a number of occasions, Nkikita was allegedly threatened by Fleming who threatened to cut his head off and send him "on a slow boat back to the Congo".
When Mr Nkikita attempted to fix the toilet himself, faeces came up the drain and into the shower, forcing the tenant and his wife to use a bucket to bathe.
The court also heard that with the toilet permanently broken, the couple were forced to use the petrol station down the road in order to go to the bathroom.
As a result of the conditions of the house, Mr Nkikita said that he sought to declare himself homeless so that he could be accommodated elsewhere.
