The EFF condemns the ruling as a distortion of history, while the DA and FW de Klerk Foundation welcome it.
The Equality Court in the Western Cape on Wednesday found EFF leader Julius Malema guilty of hate speech and inciting violence.
The case stems from a 2022 rally speech where Malema chastised party members for not acting against a white man who was part of a group that attacked them outside Brackenfell High School, Cape Town, in October 2020.
Malema was referring to an incident captured on video, where a group of people confronted members of the EFF who had been protesting outside the high school following allegations that it held a matric dance for white pupils only.
The group can be seen physically attacking some of the EFF members and throwing rocks in their direction as they retreated.
Watch the video here:
This is what happened in Brackenfell.
— Sir Cabonena Alfred (@Lebona_cabonena) October 23, 2024
😂😂😂. pic.twitter.com/zhwQm0HDUt
‘Follow up’
In his speech in Cape Town, Malema asked why the members did not “follow up” with the white man “in an isolated space and attend to the guy properly”.
“Tell that white man to try me. I’ll come many times here in Western Cape, appearing (in) a court case, because no white man is going to beat me up and (I’ll) call myself a revolutionary the following day,” Malema said.
He further told the crowd to never be afraid of killing as a revolution sometimes demands such actions.
“Why did Mandela take up a gun? He was the first soldier of uMkhonto we Sizwe. Why did he take up a gun, was he taking a gun to distribute roses? He took up a gun because the revolution had reached the point where there is no longer an alternative but to kill.”
The case against Malema was brought by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) – which is the first complainant – and second complainant, Dante van Wyk, who claimed Malema was referring to him in his speech.
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Court delivers verdict against Malema
Delivering his verdict, Judge Mark Sher said 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.
“It is not acceptable in our society, which, in terms of the noble aims set out in the Equality Act, is trying to heal from a racially oppressive and violent past and to encourage and foster reconciliation, social cohesion and goodwill amongst all races,” Sher said.
“When such a call emanates from the leader of the then 3rd (now 4th) largest political party in the country it has the potential to foment racial violence on a large scale,” he added.
Sher ruled that Malema’s utterances constituted hate speech and demonstrated a clear intention to incite harm and to promote or propagate hatred.
Judgment ‘fundamentally flawed’
Reacting to the ruling, the EFF said the judgment was a grave distortion of history, philosophy, and the nature of political speech in a democratic society, and mistook Malema’s comments as literal instructions to kill white people.
The conclusion is fundamentally flawed, the party said in a statement. It added that it deliberately misreads both the context and the meaning of the speech.
“This interpretation strips the speech of its political, historical and ideological context, reducing a revolutionary critique to criminality,” the statement reads.
“It assumes that the reasonable listener is incapable of understanding metaphor, revolutionary rhetoric or the history of liberation struggles.”
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DA welcomes ruling
Meanwhile, the DA welcomed the judgment, which also included costs.
The party said it commended the SAHRC for pursuing this matter and called the verdict a “victory for the rule of law, for the Constitution, and for all South Africans who cherish the values of a free, fair and non-racial society”.
The DA said for too long, the world has watched as Malema incited violence, hatred and division, attempting to unstitch the very fabric of South African society.
“His hate speech was most recently aired live from the White House in a meeting between President Donald Trump, President Cyril Ramaphosa and a South African delegation,” the party said in a statement.
“This type of divisive language is not just damaging on a local level, it has international repercussions as well. South Africa’s reputation on the global stage is at risk when such hatred is condoned or ignored.”
The party says it will be explore further action that can be taken to enforce serious consequences against Malema’s hate speech on the back of the ruling.
FW de Klerk foundation weighs in
Also welcoming the verdict, the FW de Klerk foundation said Malema’s behaviour as the leader of one of the country’s largest parties was disturbing.
“He has openly declared his support for the violent overthrow of the state – and the killing of fellow South Africans to achieve his revolutionary goals. His comments, inciting racial conflict, are not only those of an aberrant individual expressing unacceptable views on social media, but are, presumably, the considered views and policy of his party,” the foundation said.
“As such, they constitute a clear and immediate threat to the peace and stability of South Africa’s young democracy.”
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