Malema to challenge hate speech ruling at SCA

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) says it is taking its fight against the Equality Court’s ruling, which found party leader, Julius Malema, guilty of hate speech, to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The ruling stems from remarks Malema made during an EFF rally in 2022, where he told supporters they must “never be scared to kill.”

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) took the matter to court, arguing that the comments incited violence and deepened divisions in a country still grappling with political violence and inequality.

The Equality Court found that the statements were made with a clear intention to incite harm and to promote hatred, and therefore amounted to hate speech under the Equality Act.

The party says the court’s ruling is an attack on the democratic space and the right to articulate revolutionary politics.

But the EFF says the judgment is fundamentally flawed, claiming it misreads the context and amounts to an attack on democratic space and revolutionary politics.

The EFF’s national spokesperson Sinawo Thambo, says this is a war between white supremacy and black consciousness.

The EFF’s Statement on the Equality Court Ruling on CIC Julius Malema

-We note the Court’s ruling as an attack on the democratic space and the right to articulate revolutionary politics. The language of revolution cannot be sanitised to comfort the sensitivities of those who… pic.twitter.com/WFLRpbr0ec

— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) August 27, 2025

The Human Rights Commission has welcomed the judgment, saying it reaffirms that freedom of expression does not extend to advocacy of hatred that constitutes incitement to cause harm.

Media Statement: Equality Court Upholds SAHRC’s complaint against Mr Julius Malema and the EFF https://t.co/YjDJf2Z3kA pic.twitter.com/bJsIegJNn4

— SAHRCommission (@SAHRCommission) August 28, 2025

DA leader, John Steenhuisen, said the ruling is a victory against what he deems as Malema’s campaign to incite racial division and hatred in society.

“This type of divisive language is not just damaging on a local level; it has international repercussions as well. South Africa’s reputation on the global stage is at risk when such hatred is condoned or ignored,” Steenhuisen said.

“The DA will be exploring further action that can be taken to enforce serious consequences against the hate speech of Julius Malema on the back of this groundbreaking judgment,” he added.

This is not the first time that Malema has found himself on the wrong side of the law.

In the past years, he was taken to court for singing struggle songs like “Kill the Boer,” which some have also argued constitute hate speech, while others defend them as part of liberation history.

Malema found guilty of hate speech? Interesting times ahead.

— ⛓️ Unchained ⛓️ (@___Unchained___) August 28, 2025

There is no hate speech by Julius Malema Period 🔥

— King (@King49327670) August 28, 2025

Malema has been found guilty of a crime. Hate speech. It should mean that until the appeal is successful, he should not be allowed in parliament.

— Hyperstoic✝️ (@MarinusO) August 28, 2025

How does a man continuously being accused and found guilty of incitement of harm, genocidal chants, and hate speech sit on the very constitutional body responsible for the judicial appointment process?

PURE MADNESS.

Julius Malema has been found guilty once again of hate speech… pic.twitter.com/rirfKZIMf2

— 𝖱𝖤𝖢𝖮𝖭𝟣 ®✞ (@Recon1_ZA) August 28, 2025