FPB opens a case against EFF member for threatening pupils ahead of party's national shutdown

The Film and Publication Board (FPB) opened a case against an EFF member seen in a video threatening to harm children who attend school on the day of the party's planned national shutdown.

The 30-second clip shows a man in EFF regalia in front of a party banner using threatening language while warning pupils to stay home the day after the party “gave the minister seven days to close schools”.

The EFF is planning the “mother of all shutdowns” on Monday, calling for President Cyril Ramaphosa to resign. The opposition party has warned South Africans to “close down everything” as “nothing will be operating on that day”.

The board in a statement expressed concern, saying the video and sharing it “is in contravention of section 18H of the Films and Publications Act which prohibits the distribution of content that incites imminent violence and/or constitutes incitement to cause harm”.

“The FPB has written to Twitter to take down the video from its platform as the video in addition to inciting public violence, is blatantly threatening to children.

“Furthermore, the FPB has opened a case at Lyttelton police station so that the perpetrator can be brought to book. The FPB, as required by the act, will work with the police in ensuring that the matter is dealt with swiftly to finality.”

The authority said it would monitor the removal of the video on social media to “ensure that no further dissemination or distribution by the public occurs”.

It advised people not to share, re-post or distribute the clip in any form because doing so will make them equally guilty.

FPB CEO Dr Mashilo Boloka, said “the distribution of the material underlines the continuing unprecedented trend of online harms directed at children and other vulnerable groups, including women and people with disabilities”.

“As the FPB, we are gearing ourselves up to aggressively deal with these online harms so that we have a safer online environment for the entire South African public. Being online is a human rights issue which every South African should enjoy whether for social, economic, or educational purposes.”

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