The Equality Court found EFF leader Julius Malema guilty of hate speech and inciting violence.
EFF leader Julius Malema suffered a blow on Wednesday when the Equality Court in Cape Town found him guilty of hate speech.
It comes after he told supporters at a rally in 2022 that they must “never be scared to kill” and that “any racist” who attacked EFF members or leaders “is an application to meet your maker with immediate effect”.
This followed an incident where a group of people confronted EFF members who had been protesting outside Brackenfell High School following allegations that it held a matric dance for white pupils only.
“While calling out someone who behaves as a racist may be acceptable, calling for them to be killed is not. And calling for someone to be killed because they are a racist who has acted violently, is an act of vigilantism and an incitement of the most extreme form of harm possible,” Judge Mark Sher said in his ruling.
Reacting to the ruling, the EFF said the judgment was a distortion of the nature of political speech in a democratic society. It added that the court mistook Malema’s comments as literal instructions to kill white people.
READ NEXT: Malema guilty of hate speech with his call to kill
