Malema guilty of hate speech

THE youth leader of South Africa's ruling party, Julius Malema, was on Monday found guilty of hate speech for singing the struggle song "Dubul'ibhunu" which his opponents say is a call to "shoot the farmer".

"The singing of the song by Malema constituted hate speech," Equality Court Judge Collin Lamont said in a ruling broadcast live on television.
The words undermined the dignity of people and were discriminatory and harmful.
 
"No justification exists allowing the words to be sung... the words were in any event not sung on a justifiable occasion."
 
Lamont said it was not relevant whether the words were not exposed to some people of society.
 
"If it is exposed to a portion of society then it is relevant."

Malema, who was not in court, has been ordered to pay three days' worth of the court's costs as if no expert witnesses had been called. He has also been interdicted from singing the song.

During the trial in April, Malema launched his own defence – insisting that singing the song was not a call to arms but a reminder to ANC supporters of their struggles against a racist minority regime.

The ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe appeared as a witness at the trial and challenged the complainants, the Afrikaner interests group AfriForum, to engage on the matter politically rather than take the legal route.
Mantashe also told the court that the song was sung to "inspire and mobilise".
 
But the judge disagreed on Monday, saying words are powerful weapons that could lead to disastrous actions and even genocide.
 
"The words of one person inciting others... that's how a genocide can start," Justice Lamont said.

Lamont said in determining the outcome of this case the court had to analyse the meaning of the words in the song, and its effect on society.

Single words and a group of words had "elastic meanings". The words Malema sang had not been forgotten as they were derogatory and hurtful.
He said the response of the public was relevant to check the entirety of its context.
 
Genocide was defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction" of an ethnic, religious, or national group.
 
Lamont likened the songs by Malema as those sung by soldiers when they were at war.
 
"Soldiers in battle don't treat the enemy as individuals but as a thing [a unit]."
 
Lamont said the difference was that soldiers were singing to celebrate.
 
A video of Malema singing "Dubul'ibhunu" was shown during his hearing.
 
"He executed rhythmic movement... making the shape of a firearm... and certain gestures were made," said Lamont.
 
An armed person was one in power and one who intimidated, the court found.

Lamont noted that unfair discrimination remained rooted in certain structures of society. Racial discrimination of one group or community over another could not be justified, and certain groups did not enjoy "superior status" over others in a democracy.

Since apartheid, transformation had been difficult for some in South Africa.

"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.
The court heard that the Constitution provided for equality, and the eradication of social and economic inequalities.

South Africa had international obligations under the United Nations for peace and unity including the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, and discrimination against women.

Lamont traced South Africa's history from the period before settlers started arriving in South Africa, through the years of white minority dominance.

He described it as a case of "social conflict" and launched into a long explanation on the context, background and history of the struggle against apartheid.
He said the apartheid system left wounded memories to the survivors, and described democracy as a "negotiated transition".

Certain aspects of the past may "never be fully reversed", but reconciliation and national unity were meant to heal the divisions of the past.
The African National Congress consisted of the "suppressed majority" of apartheid.
 
Outside court, a small group gathered to show their support for Malema. "We will follow Malema anywhere," one of them said.

AfriForum Youth, which is part of the rights lobby group AfriForum, opened a civil case against Malema in the Equality Court after he sang the song at a number of ANC Youth League gatherings last year.

It 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 host of ANC witnesses disagreed saying it was part of the party's history and should not be taken literally.