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AfriForum granted leave to appeal “Shoot the boer” finding
AfriForum has been granted leave to appeal the Equality Court’s August ruling in which it found that the struggle song Dubul’ ibhunu was not hate speech.
The lobby group took the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to court over various instances in which Dubul’ ibhunu – which translates to “shoot the boer” – was used by party members.
The case went to trial in the Johannesburg High Court in June, with Judge Edwin Molahlehi dismissing it in August.
AfriForum last month filed an application for leave to appeal the ruling in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), and on Tuesday it was granted.
In his ruling, Judge Edwin Molahlehi said that the threshold for leave to appeal was whether there were reasonable prospects of success on appeal.
He also said that whether there were other compelling reasons, including issues of public interest, had to be considered.
The judge said that he considered in particular AfriForum’s submissions on what it argued was the binding effect of a 2011 judgment in which Julius Malema was found guilty of hate speech for singing the song.
That case went to the SCA but it was then withdrawn and the parties agreed to mediation.
Judge Molahlehi, in his August ruling, found the 2011 judgment was not binding.
In granting AfriForum leave to appeal, he said they’d made out a case that there were at least reasonable prospects of success and that the matter had elements of public interest.
[Photo: Alaister Russell]
