A member of the Roodepoort community sparked a heated debate on one of the West Rand community network Facebook groups when she posted a photo of the old South African flag in an attempt to get an offer for someone to buy it.
The post was followed by a number of disapproving comments, in contrast with those from members of the public who saw nothing wrong with the post.
In no time comments with racial overtones started flowing about the history of the country and the blunders of the current government.
The Union of South Africa and its successor state, the Republic of South Africa used the flag from 1928 to 1994.
In the Equality Court on 21 August 2019, Judge President Phineas Mojapelo ruled that badly intentioned public displays of the old South African flag, which its detractors often refer to as the “apartheid flag”, should be limited, since “gratuitous display” constitutes not only hate speech but also harassment, and could be interpreted as an expression of white superiority, divisiveness, and severe racial prejudice.
In this particular case, AfriForum and the Nelson Mandela Foundation presented opposing arguments on the banning of a symbol that became globally infamous during the apartheid era.
In his ruling, Mojapelo carefully examined the definition of hate speech, turning to numerous dictionaries for guidance.
Reportage in the public interest, academic work and works of art could be viewed differently, Mojapelo concluded by reminding the country that hate speech had long been excluded from protected forms of expression.
As ruled by the Equality Court, it is important to realise that the propagation of hateful “ideas”, not “words” should be limited. It is about the meaning conveyed. Words are a medium [to convey meaning], but they are not the only ones.
