The Equality Court in the Western Cape on Wednesday found EFF leader Julius Malema guilty of hate speech and incitement to violence.
The case followed a 2022 rally in Cape Town where Malema told supporters they must “never be scared to kill.”
Malema warned that any racist who attacked EFF members would “meet their maker with immediate effect.”
His comments referred to a 2020 confrontation outside Brackenfell High School, where parents clashed violently with EFF protesters demonstrating against an allegedly racially exclusive matric dance.
Judge Condemns Call to Violence
Delivering judgment, Judge Mark Sher ruled that Julius Malema’s statements amounted to hate speech and incitement to harm.
He said Malema’s call to kill was “an act of vigilantism and an incitement of the most extreme form of harm possible.”
Sher stressed that South Africa’s Equality Act seeks to heal divisions from the country’s violent, racially oppressive past.
He warned that a call of this nature from the leader of a major political party could spark large-scale racial violence.
“Even if a person has acted in a reprehensible manner, such as racism. It cannot serve as a defence for calls to kill them,” Sher added.
EFF Rejects Ruling
The EFF rejected the court’s findings, describing them as a distortion of history and political speech.
In a statement, the party argued that the judgment misinterpreted Malema’s rhetoric as literal instructions to kill.
It said the ruling stripped the speech of its revolutionary and historical context and treated political critique as criminality.
Political Reaction
The DA welcomed the verdict, calling it a victory for the rule of law, the constitution, and South Africans who value a free and non-racial society.
DA leader John Steenhuisen accused Julius Malema of repeatedly inciting hatred and division, warning that his rhetoric damages South Africa’s global reputation.
Should political leaders be held accountable when their speeches risk fuelling violence?
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