A Fife man has been convicted of calling his Zimbabwean nephew a “black monkey”.
Humphrey Nyoka took his aunt’s side when he stumbled upon her having a heated conversation with husband, Robert Cull.
A trial at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard Cull’s wife Perpetua had returned home and the two had been began having a discussion about the breakdown of their marriage of 14 years.
Moments later, Mr Nyoka appeared at their home in Kirkland Walk in Methil to deliver a sink to the couple.
Cull was taken aback by Mr Nyoka jumping to his wife’s defence and swore at him, before calling him a “black monkey”.
‘Flying monkey’
Retired Cull, 70, told the court he had called his nephew a “flying monkey.”
From the witness box, Cull said: “I called him a ‘flying monkey’ because he was interfering in what I thought was none of his business.
“I believe it was a set up to make me angry. I think it was premeditated.”
Fiscal Depute Laurelle Johnstone challenged the term “flying monkey” but Cull insisted it was a recognised term.
“It’s fairly well known, certainly on the internet,” he said.
His solicitor Lynn Herbert said: “He’s been clear from the beginning, he did not make a racist remark.
“He called him a flying monkey and it’s got nothing to do with race.”
She said her client used a term “for somebody who is orchestrating a smear campaign” and likened the term to the Scots word “sleekit”.
Sheriff finds accused ‘not credible’
Sheriff Alison Michie rejected this and convicted him of acting in a racially aggravated manner and said the term “flying monkey” is “certainly not one the court has encountered”.
The sheriff judged Cull did shout, swear and utter a racist remark and that he refused to allow entry to his home and slammed a door.
She said: “It is a very brief incident but the words used by you have had a very significant impact on the witness, particularly coming from somebody who’s a family member.
“I don’t find your position credible at all.”
The court heard Cull already has a conviction for a domestic offence.
A social work report has been ordered ahead of Cull’s sentencing hearing on March 31.
What is a ‘flying monkey’?
The term “flying monkey” is used to refer to a person who does someone else’s bidding – typically a narcissist’s – during a smear campaign.
Pyschologists have used the term for those who “gaslight by proxy”.
It is thought the term originates from the Wizard of Oz, in which the Wicked Witch uses flying monkeys to do her evil bidding.
