Proposed hate speech bill causes concern

SHARING a Sparrow-type remark or electronically distributing a cartoon ridiculing President Jacob Zuma could land the ‘offender’ in prison should the newly proposed hate speech bill get the nod.

Anyone who passes on a racist comment could look at up to three years in jail on the first offence, and up to ten years on the second.

Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, John Jeffery, indicated the Hate Speech and Hate Crimes Bill is urgently required to counter a ‘plethora’ of racial incidents in 2016.

But though the bill seeks to curtail racism, law experts and the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) fear it would instead further polarise the nation and jeopardise the right to freedom of speech entrenched in the Constitution.

In its report submitted to the department, the IRR said its field surveys on the racial climate in the country has confirmed race relations are still generally sound with only 2.4% of blacks identifying racism as a serious unresolved problem.

‘There is no looming racial crisis that could justify the Bill,’ stated the IRR.

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‘Journalists and other commentators who electronically distribute cartoons or critical comments will face precisely the same penalties – even though they are not the authors and their aim is to inform the public.

‘These provisions are clearly in breach of the guarantee of free expression in Section 16 of the Constitution.

‘This primarily identifies hate speech as that which ‘incites violence’.

‘Also included is speech which ‘advocates hatred’ on the basis of ‘race, ethnicity, gender, or religion’, provided that it also ‘constitutes incitement to cause harm’.’

Unizulu Acting Head of the Law Department, Kanagie Naidoo agreed.

‘We are more than two decades into democracy, yet we still hold on to racism.

‘Not all differences of opinion and negative comments have racist connotations.

‘We as South Africans have a come a long way in terms of racial, religious, social, ethnic and gender tolerance for each other.

‘The provisions of the Hate Speech Bill attempts to limit the right to freedom of expression.

‘The question to be asked is whether the Bill satisfies the requirements set out in Section 36 (Limitation Clause) of the Constitution.

‘For the provisions of the Bill to be enforced, the State will have to prove that there was some kind of racial motive behind the utterances or statements in all hate crimes.’

Fuelling anger

Naidoo added the bill could take simple disagreements out of the frying pan, into the fire.

‘The Hate Speech Bill is likely to encourage individuals to read racist innuendos into statements that were not even intended to have any racist connotations.

‘If a reader feels insulted by a statement, then he is going to call it hate speech.

‘The Bill is going to create racism and in some way hamper the right to equality.

‘A white person’s utterance towards a person of another race is going to automatically amount to hate speech, while the converse would not attract any liability or culpability.

‘The Bill is likely to promote racial hostility while the Constitution promotes racial tolerance.’

The IRR addressed the same concern in its report.

‘Double standards in enforcement are likely to apply.

‘In the past year, existing hate speech rules have been strongly enforced against Penny Sparrow, who insultingly compared three black beach-goers to monkeys, and various whites who have used the ‘k’ word against blacks.

‘By contrast, virtually no action has been taken against Velaphi Khumalo and other black South Africans for inciting violence against whites. Mr Khumalo, for example, in January 2016, made a call that whites should be ‘hacked and killed like Jews’ and for their children to be ‘used as garden fertiliser’.

‘The hate speech provisions will primarily be used against white South Africans, to help focus public attention on white racism and strengthen outrage against it.

‘This, of course, will help lend credence to ANC assertions that white racism is the key reason for persistent poverty and inequality, rather than more salient factors such as low growth, bad schooling and pervasive unemployment.

‘This differential treatment could add to racial polarisation and raise the risk of racial confrontation.’

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