‘Rule of law must be clear’: ‘Vague’ hate speech bill under scrutiny

As the parliamentary select committee on security and justice tomorrow resumes deliberations on the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill, organs of civil society have maintained that the country continues to grapple with the remnants of its past legacy – apartheid and colonialism.

While the United Ulama Council of South Africa (UUCSA) has slammed some areas of the Bill for vagueness, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has urged parliament to strengthen and pass the draft law, saying the country remained racially polarised by its past.

Cosatu national spokesperson Matthew Parks said many South Africans endured “the pains of brutality inflected on them and their families by decades of enforced racism and hate crimes”.

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“We witness all too often incidents of hate speech and hate crimes occurring in South Africa,” said Parks.

“A few years ago, a resident of KwaZulu-Natal was sentenced to prison for spewing racial hate speech on Facebook, a community in Centurion saw mobilisation against the establishment of a mosque and white students have been found guilty at the University of the Free State for urinating in the food of African cleaning staff.

“The experience of Rwanda during the 1994 genocide is testimony that hate crimes and hate speech cannot be taken lightly.

“While hate speech – at times may be dismissed as the utterances of idiots best ignored – we have seen the impact of hate crimes, violence, murder and genocide, in such countries as Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, Germany and countless others.”

‘Bill provides balance’

Parks said it was “critical that the appropriate balance is found”.

“The constitution enshrines the right to freedom of speech, thought and political association,” Parks added.

“It also places an obligation upon the state to protect ordinary persons from unfair discrimination, with all rights accompanied by responsibilities.

“While it is critical to protect ordinary citizens and workers from hate speech, it is also important to avoid allowing inept politicians to hide behind their delinquencies.

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“The Bill provides this balance. It recognises that South Africa is a constitutional democracy that can be very noisy at times.

“We welcome provisions in the Bill that provide space for robust engagements at the workplace – between the employer, workers and their unions, within legal parameters.

“It affirms the need to provides protections for ordinary citizens from hate crimes and hate speech. Cosatu urges the National Council of Provinces to strengthen and pass this progressive and long overdue Bill.”

‘Rule of law must be clear’

UUCSA’s Rafiek Mohamed said: “The rule of law must be clear and accessible. One of the most important cases in hate speech was the Jon Qwelane matter before the Constitutional Court.

“Hate speech is extreme detestation and vilification, accompanied by discriminatory activities.

“The detestation and vilification must amount to making a person less than human, with the victim not qualifying for protection of human rights or the law – before it can be regarded as hate speech.

“The Bill is required to translate the constitutional imperatives into practical law. We submit that it does not do that.”

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