The Human Right Commission has expressed disappointment at the High Court judgement in Gauteng, that ruled that the commission was not empowered, or authorised to make findings that exonerated EFF leader Julius Malema for comments about white people.
The judgement on Friday, said that it was in fact the responsibility of the Equality Court to make such a judgement.
This stems from an application brought by AfriForum against the commission’s findings on comments made by Malema in 2016 at New Castle in KwaZulu-Natal.
Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission, Advocate Bongani Majola, says, “We’re quite disappointed with the decision, because I think that the implications of the judgement as it stands, is that the South African Human Rights Commission, is actually just a mere conduit, and that it cannot assist the South African people with the protection and promotion of their rights. In a sense that is all it has to do is to refer things to the Equality Court.”
In 2016 in KwaZulu Natal, Malema said they were not calling for the slaughtering of white people, at least for now.
The SAHRC investigated the complaints and found that Malema’s comments were not hate speech but constituted robust political speech.
Court says SAHRC acted outside mandate in Malema matter, Adv Bongani Majola weighs in:
