EFF Leader Malema Found Guilty of Hate Speech for Revolutionary Comments
Cape Town – Julius Malema, the head of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has been convicted of hate speech by the Equality Court in Cape Town. This decision arises from comments he made three years ago, wherein he encouraged supporters to “never be afraid to kill” during a revolution.
The legal matter was triggered by a complaint lodged by AfriForum in 2022 with the South African Human Rights Commission, regarding Malema’s statements made at an EFF provincial meeting in the Western Cape.
Malema’s remarks seemed aimed at a white individual, as he proclaimed: “You must never be scared to kill. A revolution demands that, at some point, there must be killing because killing is part of a revolutionary act.”
The comments were related to a clash between EFF members and residents at Brackenfell High School over a racist event.
Judge Mark Sher, in his judgment, emphasized that Malema’s targeting of white men based on their race and inciting violence in his speech was unacceptable.
Judge Sher further noted: “When such a declaration comes from the leader of the then third (now fourth) largest political party in the nation, it carries the potential to instigate widespread racial violence.”
The judge concluded that Malema’s words demonstrated a clear intention to foster or spread racial hatred and observed that the EFF “endorsed and supported” Malema’s hate speech, thereby sharing in the responsibility.
In reaction to the ruling, AfriForum expressed contentment, stating that its “years-long advocacy has finally yielded results with today’s judgment from the Equality Court in Cape Town, declaring Julius Malema, EFF leader, guilty of hate speech.”
On the other hand, the EFF has announced plans to appeal the guilty verdict, claiming that the court’s findings were “fundamentally flawed and deliberately misinterprets both the context and the meaning of the speech.”
In a statement on X, the EFF noted: “We recognize the court’s decision as an attack on democratic space and the right to voice revolutionary politics.
“The language of revolution cannot be sanitized to appease the sensitivities of those who continue to benefit from colonial dispossession and have never experienced racial violence.”
“The true violence lies in the daily realities of landlessness, unemployment, and racism faced by black individuals.”