SAHRC to release findings on probe into hate speech complaints against EFF
JOHANNESBURG – The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) will release its findings on Wednesday following an investigation into a string of complaints of hate speech by Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) members, including its leader Julius Malema.
The SAHRC said it was a complex investigation weighing up freedom of expression against hate speech.
It was not clear exactly which incident the commission was investigating or the nature of the complaints.
“The findings, recommendations, and directives of the commission are in fact binding. If parties are aggrieved, they have the opportunity to take it for judicial review which means the parties need to comply with the findings, recommendations as well as the directives of the SAHRC as a Chapter 9 institution,” said the commission’s Gushwell Brooks.
Malema faces charges in the Newcastle Magistrates Court in KwaZulu-Natal related to the contravention of the Riotous Assemblies Act.
In 2016, he encouraged his supporters to occupy land but now insists he was merely quoting from the Freedom Charter.