African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) leader Julius Malema allegedly warned AfriForum leaders they will suffer the same fate as Inkatha Freedom Party supporters killed outside ANC headquarters Shell House in 1994, the Equality Court in Johannesburg heard on Monday.
During the hate speech case against Malema, AfriForum deputy chief executive Ernst Roets said the warning came at a meeting between the ANCYL and their counterparts in AfriForum, ahead of a march by the civil society organisation to the ANC’s Johannesburg headquarters.
The planned march by AfriForum youth to the league’s headquarters in Johannesburg was hampered when ANCYL league spokespeople Floyd Shivambu and Magdalene Moonsamy failed to send a legally required letter that they would accept a memorandum.
Meeting Malema
Two days before the march AfriForum went to Luthuli House by invitation of Shivambu. They met in Malema’s seventh floor corner office.
Shivambu had proposed the league would provide the paperwork satisfying the legal requirement, if AfriForum withdrew its legal action against Malema.
“If you come into my office tomorrow, what happened to the IFP in 1994 will happen to you,” Malema allegedly said.
When Roets asked what he meant he was told: “Come tomorrow and see.”
Roets said he did not know what Malema was talking about. AfriForum chief executive Kallie Kriel then explained he was referring to ANC supporters who shot and killed 19 IFP supporters during a march outside the ANC’s old Johannesburg head office Shell House.
Roets said he was worried, but it was too late to call off the AfriForum march.
Marching on
Instead, members of the organisation gathered at Mary Fitzgerald square and he, Kriel and three musicians, including Steve Hofmeyr, went to ANC headquarters Luthuli House.
They tried to hand over a file containing the names of over 1Â 600 people attacked on farms, but the papers were thrown into the air, stamped on and driven over.
During the lengthy meeting, “a lot was said” — where the league wanted to know why Malema was being taken to court.
The league also threatened to have the song De La Rey by Bok van Blerk declared hate speech.
Rich man, poor man
Roets said the meeting took a racial turn when Malema said whites were getting richer and blacks poorer, and that there was no such thing as a rich black man.
Roets named Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale as a rich black man, but Malema said Sexwale was poor because he owed the banks money.
The youth league delegation then explained the song was not about white people, but against oppressors and apartheid. They then concluded that whites oppressed farmworkers.
Earlier, film footage of Malema singing lyrics translated as “shoot the boer” were shown in court. At first Malema and the public gallery were quiet, but eventually muffled laughter was heard from the gallery and the occasional discrete smile was seen from Malema as he was shown singing at various occasions.
However, as AfriForum’s lawyers moved on to a clip of him evicting a BBC journalist from a press conference in April 2010, his lawyer Vincent Maleka objected, saying the clip contained subject matter not related to the case.
AfriForum advocate Martin Brassey said they wanted to establish repeat behaviour. Earlier he said Malema had “the tendencies” of a “demagogue” with race-based resentment of whites.
“This song was sung by an influential and controversial political leader within a high position, a very high position in the ruling party,” Brassey said.
Move along
Judge Collin Lamont asked Brassey to move on, saying they could revisit the footage later.
Roets said AfriForum had black and white members. In the five years he had been with AfriForum the singing of this song had concerned members the most.
Afriforum want the lyrics of the song prohibited, arguing that it was harmful to Afrikaners and farmers.
Farmers’ organisation Transvaal Agricultural Union of South Africa and the Association of Lawyers for Afrikaans are supporting AfriForum in the application.
Malema was protected by at least five armed bodyguards at court case.
“It’s none of your business who is paying for it, but it is not government,” Shivambu said outside court during a recess, when asked about the guards.
They stood out in their black suits, white shirts, red ties and sunglasses with the muzzles of their M14 assault rifles pointing at the ground.
The case was adjourned until Tuesday.