Despite losing the hate speech case, AfriForum’s Ernst Roets yesterday maintained Dubul’ iBhunu (Shoot the Boer) sung by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) was morally wrong amid South Africa’s political climate, where violence is romanticized and encouraged towards minority communities and farmers.
Roets was speaking to The Citizen at the High Court in Johannesburg after Judge Edwin Molahlehi dismissed with costs AfriForum’s application to have the song declared as hate speech.
“The promise made in 1994 about a democratic South Africa where human rights will be upheld, where reconciliation will be promoted and where minority rights will also be protected under a one-man, one-vote system did not materialise,” Roets said.
AfriForum is ready to file an appeal against the #KillTheBoer judgement. Here is why.@afriforum pic.twitter.com/NLtq8YbU7s
— Ernst Roets (@ErnstRoets) August 25, 2022
“We have a system that’s turning into majoritarianism, which is not the same as democracy. The test for democracy is where the minorities feel protected with the minority rights also protected and it seems like we’re heading down a path where the opposite is happening.”
‘No one is going to stop us’
EFF spokesperson Sinawo Tambo said the party was happy that the court has rejected the racist attempts by AfriForum to criminalize a liberation song. Tambo said they were going to continue to defend the liberation struggle history and that for as long as the court has not sanctioned songs of liberation, they would continue to sing them.
“The EFF will continue to sing the songs of the liberation of our people, Dubul’ iBhunu, and any song that we deem fit. No one is going to stop us from honouring those who fought against supremacy in this country. Those who think the song is offensive must read the judgment; the judgment was decisive that to ban a liberation song of this nature would curtail the freedom of speech.”
EFF treasurer-general Omphile Maotwe said the court has affirmed what they have been saying, which is AfriForum is a racist right-wing organization.
“We are sick and tired of people who do not want to see democracy in this country,” said Maotwe.
Molahlehi found that the objectivity evaluation of the impugned song is that it does not constitute hate speech but rather it deserves to be protected under the freedom of speech. He also found that in the current political situation, the song is directed at articulating the failure of the current government in addressing the issue of economic empowerment, land reform, and distribution.
“Declaring the impugned song to be hate speech would significantly alter or curtail freedom of expression,” he said.
In court, after Molahlehi had finished reading the judgment, Maotwe and EFF deputy secretary general Poppy Mailola sang Dubul’ iBhunu in jubilation, while outside court EFF members also sang the song and other struggle songs.
Roets said they will appeal the ruling as they “believe that there were many aspects of the judgment that did not show a clear understanding of what our case actually was and what the test for hate speech was and what the facts in this matter are”.
Roets said Molahlehi did not consider the racists comments made by EFF leader Julius Malema as he only pointed to all the mitigating arguments and all the arguments given by Malema as to why this is not hate speech.
“Imagine that a person, a leader of a political party goes under testimony and says, ‘I might one day call all my supporters to slaughter white people’ and the judge doesn’t even consider that. It’s weird. In our view, there are obvious grounds for appeal.”
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