Could Malema have brought denied UK visa on himself?

When it comes to the arcane art of diplomacy, His Majesty’s civil servants in London probably wrote the user manual.

Naturally, when it comes to “plausible deniability”, there are few who can compete with them.

That is why the response from British high commissioner Antony Phillipson about why EFF leader Julius Malema failed to get a visa for an upcoming visit to the UK, left matters masterfully opaque.

Phillipson said the home office in London had not had enough time to process Malema’s application, because of a public holiday in the UK.

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However, he also noted that the EFF’s applications had been made “in advance” and that they had applied for “priority service”.

The question then lingers: was the visa refused on political grounds, or because it was not made in time?

We will probably never know. However, there is no doubt that Malema is controversial enough to see red flags shooting up everywhere.

He has been a forceful singer of the “Kill the Boer, Kill the farmer” song which, undoubtedly, will have been reported in the UK media.

He was also charged with discharging a rifle. Malema may cry about ulterior motives but a country has the right to say who can visit.

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