/ 12 September 2011

In SA, ‘no transformation without pain’

In Sa

Judgment in ANC Youth League president Julius Malema’s “shoot the boer” hate speech case began without him in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Monday.

AfriForum Youth opened a civil case against Malema in the Equality Court after he sang the words “dubul’ ibhunu”, which translate to “shoot the boer”, at a number of youth league gatherings.

Judge Collin Lamont began by tracing South Africa’s history from the period before settlers started arriving in South Africa, through the years of white minority dominance.

Lamont described it as a case of “social conflict” and then launched into a explanation on the context, background and history of the struggle against apartheid.

He said certain groups did not enjoy “superior status” over others in a democracy.

“Certain members [of the public] embrace the new society, others found it hard to adjust … it will continue for some time. There can be no transformation without pain,” said Lamont.

Lamont said how words are understood was more important the intention of the speaker.

He said freedom of expression did not trump human dignity in South African law.

“Freedom of expression does not ensure superior status in our law,” said Lamont on Monday.

He named a number of local laws and international treaties that ensure the protection of human dignity.

He said the Constitutional Court had handed down many “ubuntu” judgments which sought to address the strains or broken relations in communities.

Lamont said minorities had no legislative power and often had to turn to court for their rights. They were a “fragile group”.

During the course of the hate speech trial, he had repeatedly said any of the parties could stop the case.

He traced the number of times Malema sang variations of lyrics.

He said one of the defences was it was symbolic of the white regime and not literal.

‘We will follow Malema anywhere’
Outside court, a small group had gathered to show their support for Malema. “We will follow Malema anywhere,” one of them said.

But, in contrast to the usual rousing singing and sea of supporters, the pavement was empty.

A police officer said there had been no application for a gathering permit but they had prepared for a “spontaneous gathering”.

AfriForum Youth believed the words were threatening to minorities, a threat to the safety of Afrikaners and farmers, and that the phrase was hate speech.

Malema and a many ANC witnesses disagreed, saying it was part of the party’s history and should not be taken literally.

Disciplinary hearing postponed
Meanwhile, the disciplinary hearing against Malema was postponed again to allow him to attend the court ruling on Monday.

Malema and five other league office-bearers have been brought before the ANC’s disciplinary committee.

The subject of the hearing includes comments they made about supporting the opposition in Botswana to enable a change of government. The ANC has charged that the six have brought the party into disrepute.

On Sunday, Malema lost another battle against the national disciplinary hearing after his application to keep details of the proceedings and decisions from the media.

Malema challenged the release of the full details of his previous application to have all charges against him dropped, saying it was in breach of the constitution.

The NDC ruled that it had not breached the ANC’s constitution because the findings made public on September 2 were not the final outcome of the hearing but merely related to a procedural matter.

It added that the decision to publish the findings was warranted because information leaked to the media might have created confusion and that Malema had not suffered prejudice.

Malema faces suspension or expulsion if he is found guilty. — Sapa