Durban – EFF leader Julius Malema has been given 10 days to retract statements made during a recent rally in the Western Cape.
The South African Human Rights Commission said it had served Malema and the EFF with a written notice that if they did not retract and apologise for the prima facie unlawful statements, as well as give the appropriate undertakings to desist from further promotion of hatred and violence on any ground, the Commission would proceed to the Equality Court for relief.
“The Commission is of the view that certain parts of Mr Malema’s speech and some of the posters/banners displayed at the event as set out above prima facie, individually and collectively, constitute incitement of violence, hate speech and possibly other transgressions of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, 4 of 2000,” the SAHRC said in a statement.
The Commission said it had received various complaints following Malema’s sentiments and EFF posters and banners displayed at the EFF’s Provincial People’s Assembly in the Western Cape last month.
According to the complaints received by the Commission, and corroborated by video recordings of the event, the following statements were made by Malema during the event:
In reference to an incident at the Brackenfell High School last year, and footage of a white person “beating up” an EFF member, Malema questioned why that (white) person had not been located and taken to “an isolated space and attend to the guy properly”.
This was followed by an exhortation to the members that “You must never be scared to kill. A revolution demands that at some point there must be killing, because the killing is part of a revolutionary act.”
“Why did Mandela take up a gun? He was the first soldier of Umkhonto we Sizwe to distribute roses. He took up a gun because the revolution had reached up a point where there is no longer an alternative but to kill.”
“Anything that stands in the way of the revolution must be eliminated.”
“Revolutionaries, when confronted by that situation, will not think twice.”
“The EFF must be known that it is not a playground for racists, that any racists that plays next to the EFF and threatens and beat up the membership and the leadership of the EFF, that is the application to meet your maker with immediate effect.”
“Violence can only be ended with violence, not any other necessary means.”
“This, it’s a war between white supremacy and black consciousness. You must know the two will never meet. We are in a permanent war with white supremacists.”
Messages on the posters/banners:
“Honeymoon is over for white people in South Africa.”
“A revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate.”
"If they do not, within 10 days hereof, appropriately retract and apologise for the prima facie unlawful statements in question and give appropriate undertakings to desist from further promotion of hatred and violence on any ground, the Commission will proceed to the Equality Court for appropriate interim interdictory relief,“ the SAHRC said.
Civil rights organisation AfriForum has welcomed the findings.
“AfriForum considers this development to be only the first step to stop incitement to violence and hate speech by the EFF and Malema. AfriForum cannot allow the political environment to become so radicalised that politicians can openly commit hate speech against minorities without consequences,” said Ernst van Zyl, campaign officer for strategy and content at AfriForum.
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