Photo Jacques Nelles
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has issued the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema with a written notice for hateful statement he made during the party’s Provincial People’s Assembly in the Western Cape.
The SAHRC said it has received various complaints against the firebrand Malema for his sentiments including posters and banners displayed by the EFF at the gathering on 16 October.
The commission said during the meeting, Malema referred to an incident at the Brackenfell High School last year, and footage of a white person “beating up” an EFF member.
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“Mr Malema questioned why that (white) person had not been located and taken to “an isolated space and attend to the guy properly”, 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.”
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The SAHRC also made reference to at least six other sentiments expressed by Malema at the gathering.
“Anything that stands in the way of the revolution must be eliminated.”
“Revolutionaries when confronted by that situation will not think twice.”
“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.”
The commission said it also noted posters and banners brandished at the event by EFF members, and printed with the party’s insignia.
“Honeymoon is over for white people in South Africa”, and “A revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate”.
The commission added that Malema must retract and apologise for the hurtful statements.
“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.
“If they (Malema and EFF) do not, within ten 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,” it said.
The EFF has refuted the allegations made by the SAHRC.
“The EFF categorises them as part of the nefarious attempts to erase the truth of our liberation history and an attempt to limit free speech.
“It must be noted that the Human Rights Commission concluded their investigation and reached findings that we must either retract or apologise within 10-days without affording the EFF an opportunity to present its side of the story.
“Laws of natural justice demand that institutions like the commission must hear both sides before making a determination. We will, therefore, not meet the 10-day deadline of the commission or apologise until we are listened to by a neutral body,” the EFF said.
The party claims Malema’s statements were taken out of context, and referred to the works of among others Frantz Fanon to defend some of the statements.
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