STEVEN FRIEDMAN: AfriForum targeting Malema sets the fight against corruption back
AfriForum’s threat to privately prosecute Julius Malema signifies a racial agenda rather than a genuine desire for clean government
If AfriForum did not exist, politicians who don’t want citizens to know what they do with public money would probably need to invent it. It is hard to believe that AfriForum and Advocate Gerrie Nel’s threat to launch a private prosecution against Julius Malema is meant to help the fight against corruption. An actual prosecution is unlikely — and unnecessary now since the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is due to make a decision on the case in August. So they are clearly trying to make a political point — but the point they are trying to make is certain to set back the fight against corruption. By choosing as their target not a government official but an opposition politician, who happens to be demanding land expropriation without compensation, they have ensured they will be seen to be striking a blow for whiteness, not clean government. They also seem keen to signal that only whites, rather than the black people who dominate government, can deal with corruption. And so they are...
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