Latest news with #JuliusMalema
IOL News
2 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Rule of Law: Judicial Accountability is Healthy for Democracy
Protest: EFF leader Julius Malema led a march to the Constitutional Court demanding that President Cyril Ramaphosa be held accountable for the Phala Phala scandal. The question regarding the judiciary's independence is not so dissimilar to the former President Thabo Mbeki's reaction to the ANC's parliamentarians' vote to squash the establishment of a Multi-Party Committee to investigate whether President Ramaphosa has a case to answer on the Phala Phala farmgate scandal, says the writer. Prof. Sipho Seepe Umkhonto we Sizwe Party (MKP) argues that 'Members of Parliament are required to declare their assets; therefore, the same standards should apply to judges, who wield immense constitutional power and influence. Judges must be held to a higher standard of scrutiny and accountability. South Africa cannot afford to have a judiciary shielded from the same transparency expected of other arms of state.' The self-appointed guardians of our democracy would have none of it. The judiciary is a no-go area. After all, conventional wisdom dictates that judges are paragons of virtue. They cannot be compared to corruption-prone politicians and public officials. Counterposing MKP's call is an argument that says, 'Judges are already subject to the most stringent asset and income declarations of all public office bearers'. Also, subjecting judges to lifestyle audits would imply suspicion of corruption. If stringent processes for probing judicial integrity are in place, MKP's call should not pose a problem. A case of suspicion has been made. According to the 2018 Afrobarometer survey, a publication of the Institute for Justice & Reconciliation, 32% of South Africans suspect that judges are involved in corruption. In 2002, the level of mistrust was 15%. Chief Justice Mandisa Maya is on record that there are issues that require urgent attention including 'the report of the 2021 Afrobarometer survey that the public's trust in the judiciary has declined…loss of confidence in the judiciary does not augur well for the rule of law and our democracy'. She concluded that 'the judiciary itself needs to do an introspection and check if we are to blame for this change of attitude towards the institution.' Delivering the Nelson Mandela Lecture, former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng raised a similar concern. 'There is an attempt to capture the judiciary…. any captured member of the judiciary will simply be told or will know in advance, when so and so and so and so are involved, we'd better know your place. Or when certain issues are involved, well, the decision is known in advance'. Far from being denialists, Mogoeng and Maya have approached the subject with a certain degree of maturity. Theirs is to call for vigilance against attempts to undermine (or shield) the judiciary. All that MKP has done is put the matter up for public debate. For Joe Soap in the street, the question regarding the judiciary is not so dissimilar to the former President Thabo Mbeki's reaction to the ANC's parliamentarians' vote to squash the establishment of a Multi-Party Committee to investigate whether President Ramaphosa has a case to answer on the Phala Phala farmgate scandal. Mbeki asked. 'Are we saying that we suspect or know that he (Ramaphosa) has done something impeachable and therefore decided that we must protect our president at all costs by ensuring that no Multi-Party Committee is formed?...... We acted as we did [as if] there was something to hide'. MKP's call for judges to be subjected to lifestyle audits coincides with President Ramaphosa's initiation of the process for the appointment of the Deputy Chief Justice. The position became vacant following the elevation of Justice Mandisa Maya to lead the apex court. For his part, President Ramaphosa nominated four judge-presidents. With Mahube Molemela (Supreme Court of Appeal having declined the nomination, the remaining contenders comprise Dunstan Mlambo (Gauteng), Cagney John Musi (Free State), and Lazarus Pule Tlaletsi (Northern Cape). The Judicial Service Commission, headed by Chief Justice Maya, is expected to pronounce itself on the suitability of the nominees for the position. To be clear, this is a political appointment. With the recycling of Mlambo after his failed bid for the position of Chief Justice, it is a safe bet that Mlambo will get the position. Hopefully, this time around, President Ramaphosa will not go for a demonstrably weak candidate. This would be a case of history repeating itself. A knee-jerk response to MKP will not remove the lingering suspicions of bias. First, far from ubiquitous misconceptions, judges are neither necessarily wise nor omniscient. They are no angels. They are as human and as fallible as all of us. They are prone to self-interest and self-preservation, which may not cohere with the principles of justice. Second, judges do not exist in a vacuum. They are socio-cultural and political animals. There are many instances where history and politics cloud their judgments. The Constitutional Court's ruling regarding a tussle between the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality and AfriForum on changing street names is a case in point. In challenging the Tshwane Municipality regarding its decision to change street names to names of struggle icons, AfriForum had, among other things, argued that doing so would violate the constitutional right of the Afrikaner people to enjoy their culture. The Gauteng High Court had ruled in favour of AfriForum. A majority judgment by Mogoeng CJ concurred by Moseneke DCJ, Bosielo AJ, Jafta J, Khampepe J, Madlanga J, Mhlantla J, Nkabinde J, and Zondo J, upheld the appeal against the lower court. Justices Cameron and Froneman dissented. This couldn't be a mere coincidence that all black judges saw things differently from their white colleagues. It is highly possible that socio-political and cultural experiences played a role in arriving at this ruling. Another instance relates to a case in which a full bench (three judges) of the Gauteng High Court decided to offer a political commentary on a matter involving Eskom. Nailing their political flags to the mast, the three judges contended that the 'new dawn that engulfed the country in 2018 did not miss Eskom Holdings SOC Limited (Eskom). It brought life to Eskom in that in January 2018, Eskom's old and inactive leadership was replaced by new leadership with new life to undo years of maladministration and corruption within the organization.' It didn't take long before the country was plunged into rolling blackouts. The fall from Ramaphoria to Ramaruin happened at lightning speed. Lastly, members of the judiciary have not covered themselves in glory. We need not go further than recall the unseemly spectacle that played itself during the publicly televised interviews for the position of Chief Justice. It was evident that Justice Raymond Zondo was a spectacularly poor performer. Only three commissioners reportedly gave Zondo a thumbs-up against the current Chief Justice Maya's twenty-one votes. A discerning individual would have declined the appointment. We must not underplay the extent to which many of our judges are beholden to neo-colonialism. After all, they are part of 'a native elite faithful and [compliant] to the needs of the colonialists. It was largely through educational processes at all levels that these elites were moulded and culturally turned.' It is not an accident that we have courts that foreground 'colonially borrowed languages; languages that are hardly understood by [their audience], and languages, which even these speakers handle with difficulty and grammatical inadequacies.' The sooner we demythologize members of the judiciary, the better for us. * Professor Sipho P. Seepe is an Higher Education & Strategy Consultant. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
IOL News
2 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Liberation History: AfriForum's Desperate Bid to Distort Struggle Heritage
Then Deputy President Thabo Mbeki (R) hands over the African National Congress (ANC) submission to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), in Cape Town May on 12, 1997. Anyone who claims that singing "Kill the boer, Kill the farmer' is tantamount to declaring war against the Boers is irrational, unreasonable, and disingenuous, says the writer. Image: AFP Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu THE recent trip by President Cyril Ramaphosa and his delegation to America produced different results for different people. The official position from the government is that the trip was meant to restart trade relations between South Africa and America. As such, proponents of this view argue that the trip was a huge success. However, a counterview is that the trip caused more harm than good to South Africa's global image. According to this view, some of the utterances made at the Oval Office were unwarranted, factually flawed, and devoid of context. Apart from the questionable pictures of the graves which allegedly carried the bodies of Afrikaners killed in South Africa (who were not from South Africa), there were other developments which happened in that meeting. One of them was when Agriculture Minister John Steenhuizen told President Trump that the reason for the DA to join the coalition government led by Ramaphosa was solely to keep the EFF and MKP away from the Union Buildings. This raised questions about the honesty in the formation of the coalition government. The climax of the Oval Office meeting was when Trump played a video of Julius Malema singing his famous song 'Kill the Boer, the Farmer' and the other song which was sung by former President Jacob Zuma, which says 'Sizobadubula ngo mbayimbayi' [We are going to shoot them with artillery]. I will focus on Julius Malema's song because it is the one that has caused controversy. Even people who are supposed to know better fell into the trap of Trump's propaganda. The question becomes: does this song represent symbolic relevance or is it a violation of human rights and an instigator of racial violence? To answer this question, political expediency and political parochialism will not offer any assistance. Only objectivity, rationality, and context will assist in arriving at a credible conclusion. Firstly, this is a struggle song which was not composed by Malema. The late Peter Mokaba used to sing this song and dance but he never killed any Boer or Afrikaner. In fact, as he sang this song, no one went on a rampage killing Afrikaners following the song's lyrics. So, anyone who claims that singing this song is tantamount to declaring war against the Boers is irrational, unreasonable, and disingenuous. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Secondly, there have already been rulings on the singing of this song. Between 2016 and 2019, Malema sang this song six times on different occasions. In 2020, Afriforum approached the Gauteng Equality Court asking it to declare the song hate speech. The court dismissed this claim. Exercising its right, AfriForum proceeded to the Supreme Court of Appeal to try its luck. To this organisation's surprise, on 24 May 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed AfriForum's appeal. In its judgement, the Court stated that 'Mr Malema was doing no more than exercising his right to freedom of expression.' It went further to implore AfriForum to see the song in its correct context. In a nutshell, the Court implicitly concluded that AfriForum was driven by political expediency when it laid charges against Malema, not to unite the nation. There was no intention to get justice. Instead, the motivating factor was for AfriForum to be seen as being politically relevant. Not even the Constitutional Court could agree with the argument advanced by Afriforum. It dismissed Afriforum's application for leave to appeal, arguing that the application 'bears no reasonable prospects of success.' Out of desperation, AfriForum approached President Ramaphosa asking him to condemn the singing of the song. The organisation was once again disappointed when Ramaphosa referred it to the courts which had already ruled on the matter. Given this history, a few questions arise. Why did Trump play Malema's video singing this song? Was his intention to prove that Afrikaners are being killed in South Africa or was he simply playing a mind's game to test Ramaphosa's delegation? To what extent did Ramaphosa and his team rise above such petty politics? Was the President correct in telling Trump that 'this is not the view of government' and that Malema's EFF was not part of the coalition government? Was this necessary? A nation which abandons its history is as good as dead. It is for this reason that some universities in America insist that regardless of the qualifications students are pursuing, they are forced to take some history modules. This is done to ensure that they do not operate in a vacuum but understand the historical context. Struggle songs are part of the South African heritage. They remind all of us about the history of this country. South Africa became a democracy in 1994. However, to this day, the song 'Mhla libuyayo kuyobe kunzima' [when our land comes back, it will be tough] is still being sung for different reasons. It continues to say 'kuyokhala uBotha, kuqhume umbayimbayi' [there will be a cry from Botha, and there will be an explosion of artillery].
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Who is Julius Malema, the South African politician behind 'kill the farmer' chant?
JOHANNESBURG - Julius Malema, the South African politician who President Donald Trump wants arrested for repeatedly chanting "kill the farmer," is reportedly a Rolex watch-wearing Gucci revolutionary, often seen in snazzy, expensive clothes, who champions the poor from a luxury mansion in what is said to be South Africa's richest street. He has also called for the further arming of the terror group Hamas and has been accused of stealing millions of dollars from the very pensioners he is trying to get to vote for him. Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with a video of Malema shouting "Shoot to kill, Kill the Boer (the Afrikaner), kill the farmer," when the South African president, a neighbor of Malema's in Johannesburg, visited the Oval Office earlier this month. South Africa's President Pushes Back On Trump's Demand To Arrest Politician Who Chanted 'Kill The Farmer' Trump has offered Afrikaner farmers, descendants of mostly Dutch settlers, refuge in the U.S., citing controversial and disputed claims that they are facing White genocide and forced land seizures. The self-styled commander in chief of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Party, Malema, a Marxist-Leninist, was the head of the Youth League of South Africa's biggest party, the African National Congress (ANC), but he was kicked out for bad-mouthing its leadership. Read On The Fox News App In last year's election, votes for the EFF slumped to under 10%, and both of Malema's sidekicks, party co-founders and men he described as "brothers," left him and joined a competing party. So it did not come as a surprise to many that, allegedly to spite President Trump, Malema just days later jumped up, literally, onto the stage at the very next rally he was due to appear at to yell "Kill the farmer, I repeat kill the farmer." In 2022, South Africa's Constitutional Court, the equivalent of the U.S. Supreme Court, ruled the chant is not hate speech, declaring it is only the words of a song. Malema sits on the Judicial Services Commission, a body which appoints the Court's judges. To Malema, critics say, the chant may be more than just song lyrics. At least twice he told reporters here, "We have not called for the killing of White people – at least for now." On another occasion, he demanded, "We will cut the throat of Whiteness." Trump, South Africa In Growing Row Over Hotly Contested Land Law, Country's Deals With Us Foes Some say Malema is running two strategies - one which follows the mantra "There's no such thing as bad publicity," and the other to act like a small child that makes a lot of noise, hoping to be noticed, but with little real effect. Analyst J. Brooks Spector told Fox News Digital that Malema "has crafted a political reputation as the 'bad boy' of South African politics." Spector, a former U.S. diplomat who lives in Johannesburg and is associate editor of the Daily Maverick, continued. "In a country with a third of its workforce unemployed, and higher among young people, and poverty still a fact of life for many more, his (Malema's) populism initially drew significant support and enthusiasm among voters. However, his popularity as a political leader has faded somewhat." Malema openly supports the terror group Hamas, telling a rally in 2023, shortly after the October 7 attack on Israel, "when you are oppressed, you only have one option, shoot to kill. There is nothing wrong with what Hamas is doing. The EFF is going to arm Hamas." He also shouted he intended to shut down the Israeli Embassy in South Africa. "We are going to remove this embassy," he yelled to loud cheers. Allegations also suggest that Malema and his then right-hand man, Floyd Shivambu, benefitted from "dodgy" deals with the South African VBS bank, which subsequently collapsed, leading to people losing their pension savings. "In 2018, the VBS scandal exposed widespread looting by bank officials and politicians, including senior leaders of the EFF, Floyd Shivambu and Julius Malema," the Opposition Democratic Alliance's (DA) Baxolile Nodada stated last August. On Friday, the DA's federal executive member and national spokesperson, Willie Aucamp, told Fox News Digital the DA "isn't letting the VBS scandal fade into the background. Not when over R2 billion ($111 million) was looted from pensioners, struggling municipalities, and poor communities. The DA has been leading the charge to expose those behind this daylight robbery, including Julius Malema, leader of the EFF." He continued, "The DA laid criminal charges back in 2018, but six years later, not a single charge has been prosecuted by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). Justice for the victims of VBS is long overdue. The DA will continue pushing for the arrest and prosecution of every single person involved - Malema included." Speaking in Cape Town in July last year, Malema said "I will never be intimidated by VBS. No leader of the EFF received VBS money." But now that Malema is on Donald Trump's radar, the president might push back powerfully on Malema's links to Hamas and the VBS saga, Max Meizlish, senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. "Like the ANC that courts Iran and supports Hamas, Julius Malema would be wise to not provoke Donald Trump. After all, Malema was clearly implicated in the VBS scandal and has openly called to "arm Hamas." Malema could very well find himself the target of Global Magnitsky Act sanctions — a tool which President Trump can wield unilaterally and at a moment's notice," Meizlish article source: Who is Julius Malema, the South African politician behind 'kill the farmer' chant?
Fox News
3 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Who is Julius Malema, the South African politician behind 'kill the farmer' chant?
JOHANNESBURG - Julius Malema, the South African politician who President Donald Trump wants arrested for repeatedly chanting "kill the farmer," is reportedly a Rolex watch-wearing Gucci revolutionary, often seen in snazzy, expensive clothes, who champions the poor from a luxury mansion in what is said to be South Africa's richest street. He has also called for the further arming of the terror group Hamas and has been accused of stealing millions of dollars from the very pensioners he is trying to get to vote for him. Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with a video of Malema shouting "Shoot to kill, Kill the Boer (the Afrikaner), kill the farmer," when the South African president, a neighbor of Malema's in Johannesburg, visited the Oval Office earlier this month. Trump has offered Afrikaner farmers, descendants of mostly Dutch settlers, refuge in the U.S., citing controversial and disputed claims that they are facing White genocide and forced land seizures. The self-styled commander in chief of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Party, Malema, a Marxist-Lennist, was the head of the Youth League of South Africa's biggest party, the African National Congress (ANC), but he was kicked out for bad-mouthing its leadership. In last year's election, votes for the EFF slumped to under 10%, and both of Malema's sidekicks, party co-founders and men he described as "brothers," left him and joined a competing party. So it did not come as a surprise to many that, allegedly to spite President Trump, Malema just days later jumped up, literally, onto the stage at the very next rally he was due to appear at to yell "Kill the farmer, I repeat kill the farmer." In 2022, South Africa's Constitutional Court, the equivalent of the U.S. Supreme Court, ruled the chant is not hate speech, declaring it is only the words of a song. Malema sits on the Judicial Services Commission, a body which appoints the Court's judges. To Malema, critics say, the chant may be more than just song lyrics. At least twice he told reporters here, "We have not called for the killing of White people – at least for now." On another occasion, he demanded, "We will cut the throat of Whiteness." Some say Malema is running two strategies - one which follows the mantra "There's no such thing as bad publicity," and the other to act like a small child that makes a lot of noise, hoping to be noticed, but with little real effect. Analyst J. Brooks Spector told Fox News Digital that Malema "has crafted a political reputation as the 'bad boy' of South African politics." Spector, a former U.S. diplomat who lives in Johannesburg and is associate editor of the Daily Maverick, continued. "In a country with a third of its workforce unemployed, and higher among young people, and poverty still a fact of life for many more, his (Malema's) populism initially drew significant support and enthusiasm among voters. However, his popularity as a political leader has faded somewhat." Malema openly supports the terror group Hamas, telling a rally in 2023, shortly after the October 7 attack on Israel, "when you are oppressed, you only have one option, shoot to kill. There is nothing wrong with what Hamas is doing. The EFF is going to arm Hamas." He also shouted he intended to shut down the Israeli Embassy in South Africa. "We are going to remove this embassy," he yelled to loud cheers. Allegations also suggest that Malema and his then right-hand man, Floyd Shivambu, benefitted from "dodgy" deals with the South African VBS bank, which subsequently collapsed, leading to people losing their pension savings. "In 2018, the VBS scandal exposed widespread looting by bank officials and politicians, including senior leaders of the EFF, Floyd Shivambu and Julius Malema," the Opposition Democratic Alliance's (DA) Baxolile Nodada stated last August. On Friday, the DA's federal executive member and national spokesperson, Willie Aucamp, told Fox News Digital the DA "isn't letting the VBS scandal fade into the background. Not when over R2 billion ($111 million) was looted from pensioners, struggling municipalities, and poor communities. The DA has been leading the charge to expose those behind this daylight robbery, including Julius Malema, leader of the EFF." He continued, "The DA laid criminal charges back in 2018, but six years later, not a single charge has been prosecuted by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). Justice for the victims of VBS is long overdue. The DA will continue pushing for the arrest and prosecution of every single person involved - Malema included." Speaking in Cape Town in July last year, Malema said "I will never be intimidated by VBS. No leader of the EFF received VBS money." But now that Malema is on Donald Trump's radar, the president might push back powerfully on Malema's links to Hamas and the VBS saga, Max Meizlish, senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. "Like the ANC that courts Iran and supports Hamas, Julius Malema would be wise to not provoke Donald Trump. After all, Malema was clearly implicated in the VBS scandal and has openly called to "arm Hamas." Malema could very well find himself the target of Global Magnitsky Act sanctions — a tool which President Trump can wield unilaterally and at a moment's notice," Meizlish said.
The Citizen
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
Was Ramaphosa heckling EFF's payback for White House embarrassment?
The EFF suffered major blows during the general elections last year, and the situation could get worse in 2026. The EFF may have reverted to disruptive politics to punish President Cyril Ramaphosa for not defending the party during his meeting with US president Donald Trump in Washington earlier this month. This is the view of Theo Neethling from the University of Free State (UFS) In June 2024, during a press briefing in Cape Town, EFF leader Julius Malema said the outcomes of the general elections had left the party with no choice but to become meaningful contributors in parliament. 'This time around, we have taken a decision not to play any role in disrupting Parliament. We will be robust and engage to a point where we follow up on that which was rejected illegally in Parliament through peaceful protest on the streets,' he said. However, all of this changed this week when at least 10 EFF MPs were reprimanded for disrupting Ramaphosa's Q&A session at the Good Hope chambers. They made spurious points of order and argued with the presiding officer, which almost led to the entire session collapsing. Embarrassment in the White House Theo Neethling said the EFF's actions in parliament had a lot to do with the embarrassment the party had suffered in front of international media at the White House. 'I do believe what we saw in parliament has to do with what happened at the White House, the EFF was put on the spotlight [in front of Trump] and president Ramaphosa was in no position to defend the party and its leader. 'Julius Malema's radicalism became the president's embarrassment in the White House. John Steenhuisen also downplayed the EFF suggesting that they should never be part of the government of national unity. 'Mr. Johann Rupert also made a comment about their radicalism saying that he had been a victim of the EFF's politics for a very long time.' Malema had defended his right to sing the Kill Boer song. But Neethling said the EFF were the visible losers in the discussions that had taken place in Washington. 'They are going to seek ways of compensating for this loss of face, and we must keep in mind that they have recently lost a significant segment of their leaders, and that is a serious blow to their future,' he said. ALSO READ: EFF threatens legal action over plans to offer Elon Musk's Starlink What does the EFF's future look like? Another political analyst, Dr Imraan Buccus, said the EFF has become known for their populist actions, but this kind of politics does not advance national interest. 'These Utopian views on political activism lack the strategy and foresight, and the ability to grasp the balance of forces in society, and do not therefore help the future of South Africa,' he said. The EFF suffered major blows during the general elections last year, and Buccus predicted that the situation may get worse for the Red Berets during the local government elections next year. 'The EFF aims to attract the young vote 18 to 30 but the reality is that even though Malema remains popular in this cohort it does not translate electorally because young people here and internationally express political enthusiasm but often do not turn up at the polls,' he said. Meanwhile parliament is expected to launch formal disciplinary proceedings into the conduct of EFF members during the president's Q&A session. The party is accused of denying South Africans the right to hear the president's responses and of disturbing the work of parliament. NOW READ: 'He's talking rubbish,' Malema responds to Shivambu's comments on EFF
