South Africa: Malema in hot water for racist tweet
Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) on Tuesday ruled that recent comments attributed to firebrand political leader, Julius Malema, amounted to hate speech.
This comes after the President of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on September 14 shared a video on his Twitter feed in which he paid tribute to former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe who died earlier this month.
The tweet carried a quote next to a picture of Mugabe saying “the only white man you can trust is a dead white man”.
The commission which is tasked with investigating public complaints said it is “deeply concerned” by Malema’s conduct.
“The commission is of the view that the social media utterances, on a prima facie basis, amount to hate speech under section 10 of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act,” it said in a statement
“The SAHRC has on numerous occasions urged political leaders to recognise and take responsibility for the power they wield through their words. At the same time, the commission remains committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of expression. The right to free speech is protected as a basic human right, under section 16 of the constitution,” it added.
The commission said it would also probe a decision by Malema and his party to ban media organisations Amabhungane and the Daily Maverick from press conferences and other events.
-0- PANA CU/VAO 24Sept2019
