After a hearing of eight days, a case of hate speech filed against Julius Malema by Brackenfell man, Dante van Wyk in 2022 will conclude in the Equality Court in Cape Town tomorrow (Thursday 7 March).
The case stems from the scuffle that broke out between the community and members of the EFF outside Brackenfell High School on 10 November 2020.
EFF members protested at the school after allegations of racism surfaced when a private matric farewell party was organised by a parent of a matriculant during the covid pandemic. It was alleged that only white learners were invited to the party, a contention that was later disproved.
The school was also cleared of racism allegations by the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the provincial education department.
The SAHRC, who previously found Malema’s words to be hate speech and incitement to violence, has joined Van Wyk in the case.
Following the incident Van Wyk was accused of assaulting an EFF member on the day, but was found not guilty on this charge last year.
Then, in a speech in October 2022, when Malema visited the Western Cape, he referred to the Brackenfell incident,
In the speech he said: “You were beaten by white people and there is a white man who is visible on camera . . . why have you not, as a revolutionary organisation, followed up on that guy, him alone, to take that guy in an isolated space and attend to the guy properly?”
“Tell that white man to try me . . . no white man is going to beat me up and call myself a revolutionary the following day,” he added. “You must never be scared to kill [in] a revolution, demand that at some point there must be killing because the killing is part of a revolutionary act.”
Violent threats
This led to thousands of death threats made on social media against Van Wyk, his pregnant fiancé and unborn baby, according to Van Wyk’s attorney Millie Westley from law firm Thomson Wilks.
“The most atrocious violent threats were made and they had to withdraw from society and go into hiding in another province, something that prevented him from pursuing employment. They experienced horrific trauma and at the age of only 19 his life was put on hold,” says Westley.
Westley says they seek from the court that Malema be found guilty of hate speech, to retract his words and R1 million in damages.
Furthermore, the applicants asked that the case be referred to the National Prosecuting Authority for prosecution.
Representing Malema and the EFF, advocate Mfesane Ka-Siboto argued that Malema does not hate white people, but only racism as he had said at a conference in Durban in February.
A forensic linguistics expert for the applicants in the case testified to what constitutes hate speech to those it was uttered to.
“In other words how does the reasonable man to whom the words are spoken hear and interpret the words. In her testimony she said that the words were not political nuances but literal speech,” says Westley.
She says they are optimistic about the outcome of the case.
“Danté has been very brave and though still traumatised is coping well with the hearing procedures.”
