BLF slogans amount to ‘hate speech’ says woman taking it to Equality Court
Lucy Strydom says Black First Land First’s ‘kill the boer’‚ ‘one settler‚ one bullet’ and ‘land or death’ comments make her fear for her safety as a white person
18 July 2018 - 15:33
byNaledi Shange
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Black First Land First leader Andile Mngxitama. Picture: Sunday Times
A woman who is taking Black First Land First (BLF) to the Equality Court for alleged hate speech wants the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to review the organisation’s eligibility for registration as a political party.
Lucy Strydom said the BLF had the potential to influence public discourse and could not be allowed to continue to propagate its rhetoric of violence and death aimed at white people. She is being represented by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
A pre-trial hearing on the matter was heard at the Equality Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
In her founding affidavit‚ Strydom said she was also seeking an order that her complaint be submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions with a view to instituting criminal proceedings against BLF leader Andile Mngxitama.
Strydom listed slogans chanted by the BLF, which she argued amounted to hate speech that incited violence against white people in SA. "These slogans emanate from the apartheid era. The slogans at play are ‘kill the farmer‚ kill the boer’‚ ‘dubula Ibhunu’‚ ‘one settler‚ one bullet’ [and] ‘land or death’."
She is pleading with the court to declare the statements as hate speech‚ on the basis of race. "It is my humble submission that it would be in the public interest to utilise the Equality Court to obtain appropriate relief‚ and for such courts to make explicit pronouncements against BLF slogans constituting hate speech directed at persons based on their race‚" she said in the affidavit.
Strydom said such utterances ignited fear in her as a white person living in the country. "It should be accepted that the word ‘settler’‚ in this statement‚ means ‘white person’. As a white individual‚ I feel threatened by this statement and am of the view that it is made with a clear intention to incite violence and hatred against white people by saying that white people in SA should be killed with firearms."
Strydom also wants the court to order the BLF to remove any social media or references on its website under the hashtag #LandOrDeath and wants the group to be banned from wearing clothing featuring such slogans.
She is requesting that Mngxitama be fined R150‚000‚ which she suggested go to an organisation promoting racial cohesion. She is also seeking an apology by the BLF for their statements.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
BLF slogans amount to ‘hate speech’ says woman taking it to Equality Court
Lucy Strydom says Black First Land First’s ‘kill the boer’‚ ‘one settler‚ one bullet’ and ‘land or death’ comments make her fear for her safety as a white person
A woman who is taking Black First Land First (BLF) to the Equality Court for alleged hate speech wants the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to review the organisation’s eligibility for registration as a political party.
Lucy Strydom said the BLF had the potential to influence public discourse and could not be allowed to continue to propagate its rhetoric of violence and death aimed at white people. She is being represented by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
A pre-trial hearing on the matter was heard at the Equality Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
In her founding affidavit‚ Strydom said she was also seeking an order that her complaint be submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions with a view to instituting criminal proceedings against BLF leader Andile Mngxitama.
Strydom listed slogans chanted by the BLF, which she argued amounted to hate speech that incited violence against white people in SA. "These slogans emanate from the apartheid era. The slogans at play are ‘kill the farmer‚ kill the boer’‚ ‘dubula Ibhunu’‚ ‘one settler‚ one bullet’ [and] ‘land or death’."
She is pleading with the court to declare the statements as hate speech‚ on the basis of race. "It is my humble submission that it would be in the public interest to utilise the Equality Court to obtain appropriate relief‚ and for such courts to make explicit pronouncements against BLF slogans constituting hate speech directed at persons based on their race‚" she said in the affidavit.
Strydom said such utterances ignited fear in her as a white person living in the country. "It should be accepted that the word ‘settler’‚ in this statement‚ means ‘white person’. As a white individual‚ I feel threatened by this statement and am of the view that it is made with a clear intention to incite violence and hatred against white people by saying that white people in SA should be killed with firearms."
Strydom also wants the court to order the BLF to remove any social media or references on its website under the hashtag #LandOrDeath and wants the group to be banned from wearing clothing featuring such slogans.
She is requesting that Mngxitama be fined R150‚000‚ which she suggested go to an organisation promoting racial cohesion. She is also seeking an apology by the BLF for their statements.
The case was postponed to September 20 2018.
This is a developing story.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Facebook brings in Google chip developer
Commission wants public apology from Velaphi Khumalo over hate speech
Velaphi Khumalo’s Hitler remark ‘a particularly grave instance of hate speech’
Peter-Paul Ngwenya application for a discharge in case with Fani Titi to be ...
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.