Malema flip-flopping within seconds is downplayed

If EFF leader Julius Malema was consistent, he would be able to clarify more easily his seemingly ambiguous statements about killing whites.

But consistency is not Malema’s strong point. This was again displayed in court last week. In June 2018, Malema told a Turkish television station that he had not called for the killing of white people, “at least for now. I can’t guarantee the future.”

In the Equality Court last week, AfriForum advocate Mark Oppenheimer tried to persuade Malema to pledge he would never call for the slaughter of whites. Such a pledge might help establish whether the kill the boer song is intended as hate speech.

Oppenheimer read out the 2018 statement to Malema and asked: “That means that at some future date you may call for the slaughter of white people, is that correct?”

Malema: “Let’s deal with that at some future date. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Oppenheimer: “So you are saying you are not ruling out that in the future you may very well call for the slaughter of white people?”

Malema: “It may not be me.”

Oppenheimer: “Could it be you?”

Malema: “It could be yes, but it may not be me.”

Oppenheimer: “Yes, but it could be you. You could at some future date call for the slaughter of white people.”

Malema: “What will necessitate that?”

Oppenheimer: “You tell me.”

Malema: “I don’t know. Why would I do that?”

Oppenheimer: “You said you could do it in the future, is that correct?”

Malema: “I can’t guarantee that I can’t do it or I won’t do it, so I’m not ruling out that possibility.”

Oppenheimer: “So right now, if I asked you to pledge, to say ‘I will never call for the slaughter of white people’, would you make that pledge?”

Malema: “I will do it with ease.”

Oppenheimer: “Make that pledge.”

Malema: “Why would I do that?”

Oppenheimer: “I’m asking you to make that pledge. You said: ‘I will do it with ease.’”

Malema: “I won’t do it.”

Oppenheimer: “Make that pledge.”

Malema: “I won’t do it.”

Oppenheimer: “You won’t do it?”

Malema: “Yes.”

This is quoted verbatim to show Malema flip-flopping within seconds. He baulked at making the pledge, then said he would do it with ease, then said he wouldn’t do it.

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His gullible Twitter followers were in raptures, thinking he scored points off a person they labelled a Jan van Riebeeck lookalike.

Their glee is misplaced. So, too, is the view which dismisses the hate speech case as a gimmick which backfired on AfriForum and gave Malema an election platform. Almost every report on the proceedings played down the menace. But Malema’s message came through loud and lucid, under oath and on the record.

No matter how the Equality Court rules, the danger posed by Malema is now clear. More shame upon those who are still campaigning to include the EFF in Gauteng metro coalition governments. Death wish turkeys voting for Christmas.