Africa-Press – Zambia. The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has welcomed a ruling by the Western Cape Equality Court, which found Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema and his party guilty of hate speech.
The judgment follows inflammatory remarks Malema made during a 2022 EFF provincial assembly, in which he appeared to advocate violence against a white man allegedly involved in an assault on an EFF member.
The court found statements such as “A revolution demands that at some point there must be k**lling” and references to punishing racists constituted hate speech under Section 10 of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act.
Judge Nathan Erasmus rejected defenses that the comments were political rhetoric or metaphor, noting they showed clear intent to incite harm.
While no immediate penalties were imposed, Malema and the EFF were ordered to pay the complainants’ legal costs, with remedies such as apologies or retractions to be determined later.
The SAHRC hailed the verdict as a victory for constitutional protections against hate speech, saying it reinforces efforts to combat expressions that incite harm and division. The EFF has vowed to appeal, calling the judgment “fundamentally flawed.”
Political parties and civil society groups, including the Democratic Alliance and AfriForum, welcomed the ruling, citing Malema’s history of divisive rhetoric.
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