AfriForum Youth demands action against the EFF SC UP over hate speech

19 April 2023

AfriForum Youth today sent a letter to Prof. Caroline Nicholson, registrar of the University of Pretoria (UP), to demand that action be taken against the EFF Student Command of UP (EFFSC UP) members who make themselves guilty of hate speech. This follows after the youth organisation saw a letter in which the EFFSC UP threatens other students on campus with words that, according to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), are incitement to violence and hate speech.

Although Julius Malema, leader of the EFF, has been taken to court by the SAHRC for inciting violence and hate speech during his speech in the Western Cape on 16 October 2022, the EFFSC UP still quotes these words as a threat in their letter. Furthermore, the letter is full of generalisations and racist comments.

“AfriForum Youth understands the seriousness of the inquiries we have received from Tuks students who feel unsafe because of the EFFSC UP’s incitement to violence and hate speech. However, the steps we are taking to hold the guilty accountable is not only focused on this one incident, but an example of how seriously we view the EFFSC’s radical statements on all campuses,” says René van der Vyver, spokesperson for AfriForum Youth.

In the letter to Nicholson, AfriForum Youth asks how the university acted against the guilty EFFSC members and demands that the EFFSC UP not be allowed to be active as a student society of the university. Following the university’s actions, AfriForum Youth will consider further complaints to the Equality Court against the EFFSC UP students.

Issued by René van der Vyver, Spokesperson, AfriForum Youth, 19 April 2023