The Freedom Fight Plus (FF+) has criticised the Hawks' decision to investigate high treason against AfriForum over US lobbying and “spreading misinformation”, saying the ANC should be charged for its policies and state capture.

In a statement, the newly elected leader Corné Mulder said the move was seen as counter to sound legal principles and that the ANC are the ones who should be in the dock.

“The ANC should in no way be allowed to claim the sole right to convey its own, biased message to the world about the state of affairs in South Africa.

“The former [Chief Justice Raymond] Zondo Commission clearly showed that the ANC covered up state capture, with the help of the National Assembly (NA), for years,” he said.

The Hawks confirmed on Monday that four dockets of high treason have been opened following accusations of the spreading of what it called misleading information in the US on South Africa's Expropriation Act.

AfriForum has repeatedly claimed that the South African government was confiscating land and that white farmers were being murdered in disproportionately high numbers.

Mulder said the police should rather start their investigation with the state capture report if it was serious about taking action against conduct bordering on high treason.

“The charge against AfriForum is ludicrous and it is unacceptable that the Hawks, tasked with more than enough of its own important work, have to waste time on conducting politically motivated investigations,” Mulder said.

He reiterated his belief that South Africa was a democratic country with freedom of expression where people who had valid passports were free to travel across the world and share what was happening in their own country.

The party insisted that lies should not be spread, but that the true state of affairs should be communicated to the international community.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

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