By Sashnee Moodley and Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Western Cape Equality Court has found Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema guilty of hate speech in a case stemming from comments made at an EFF rally in 2022.
The case was brought by the South African Human Rights Council (SAHRC) and another and Malema was found to have had the intention to incite violence and promote hatred.
Delivering the judgment, Judge Mark Sher said Malema’s statements — including telling supporters they “must never be scared to kill” — amounted to incitement of racial hatred and violence, particularly against white South Africans.
Sher noted that such rhetoric, especially from the leader of a major political party, carries a “potential to incite racial violence on a large scale.”
The ruling comes after a sustained campaign by civil rights group AfriForum, which filed multiple complaints with the SAHRC and pushed for accountability when the case appeared to stall.
The court also found that the Economic Freedom Fighters, by endorsing and not distancing itself from Malema’s remarks, must share responsibility for the hate speech.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomed the ruling and commended the SAHRC for initiating the case.
It pointed to an alleged pattern of Malema inciting violence, noting, most recently, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to the White House, where he was shown clips of Malema during EFF rallies.
This type of divisive language is not just damaging on a local level, it has international repercussions as well. South Africa’s reputation on the global stage is at risk when such hatred is condoned or ignored, “said DA leader John Steenhuisen, who was part of the South African delegation at the White House meeting.
He said the ruling showed that political leaders could be held to account by capable institutions and added that the DA would look at taking further action against Malema.
“A political leader who incites mass murder, is not normal, nor permissible. The DA has fought against this for years. Part of the reason we joined the Government of National Unity was to keep destructive and hateful political parties like the EFF out of our nation’s government. This judgment serves as further vindication of our long-standing position that the EFF will unleash a wave of hatred and race-based violence if it is allowed to access power,” Steenhuisen said.