The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have announced their decision to challenge the recent ruling against their leader Julius Malema in the Supreme Court of Appeal. The ruling found Malema guilty of hate speech for comments made at a rally in Cape Town in October 2022.
According to the party, the decision to challenge the ruling is not only in defense of Malema but also in defense of political freedom, historical truth, and the right of oppressed people to speak out against their oppression. The EFF has instructed their lawyers to begin the process of appealing the ruling.
The ruling by the Equality Court in Cape Town upheld a complaint brought by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and activist Dante van Wyk. The court found that Malema’s remarks amounted to incitement to violence on racial grounds.
During a speech at an EFF gathering in 2022, Malema criticized his members for not retaliating in clashes outside Brackenfell High School. He made comments suggesting that a white man involved in the confrontation should be taken to an isolated space and “attended to properly.” Malema also stated that “revolutionaries must not be scared to kill” and referred to racist acts as an “application to meet your maker with immediate effect.”
The SAHRC received public complaints following Malema’s remarks and initiated litigation in November 2022. The commission argued that the comments violated the rights to dignity, equality, and security of the person, and constituted hate speech under the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act.
In its ruling, the Equality Court found that Malema’s speech included clear exhortations to violence against white men based on race and political belief. The court stated that the speech amounted to direct incitement to violence and promoted hatred.
The EFF argued that the judgment stripped the speech of its political and historical context, reducing it to an act of criminality. The party claimed that the ruling failed to consider the ideological framing and historical background of the speech.
The SAHRC welcomed the court’s ruling, stating that it reaffirmed that freedom of expression does not extend to incitement of hatred that causes harm. The commission emphasized the importance of political figures using rhetoric that does not undermine human dignity and social cohesion.
This is not the first time Malema has been found guilty of hate speech. In 2011, he was ruled against for singing the struggle song “Dubul’ ibhunu” (Shoot the Boer). In 2019, a high court dismissed another SAHRC case against Malema for comments on land invasions, finding that they did not constitute hate speech but could be prosecuted under other laws.
