AfriForum faces backlash for fighting for right to display apartheid flag

AfriForum’s application to overturn the court ruling about displaying the apartheid flag in public and private spaces has received major backlash online. 

The lobby group has applied to overturn the equality court ruling that declared the display of the flag a form of hate speech.

The appeal will be heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein this week.

AfriForum CEO Ernst Roets said while the group and its members do not display the flag, it was taking the matter to court because it believes there is an important distinction between free speech and hate speech. 

“We have to be very careful about stepping onto a slippery slope where we start regarding things that are offensive as hate speech and start banning them on that basis. This is the reason AfriForum is involved in this matter, not because of the flag per se but the underlying principle of freedom of speech,” said Roets.

Why was displaying the old flag declared hate speech?

The display of the apartheid flag was declared hate speech in 2019 after the court considered the matter brought by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and SA Human Rights Commission.

Delivering the ruling, judge president Phineas Mojapelo said displaying the flag was racist and discriminatory

“Those who display the old flag consciously and deliberately choose not to display the new democratic, all-uniting and nonracial flag. They choose oppression over liberation symbols. They intend to insult and awaken feelings of white supremacy,” he said.

He said displays of the flag were offensive not only to black people but also to members of the LGBTQI+ community, and its display could fairly be seen as a message propagating hatred and hurtfulness.

Mojapelo said he believed the display of the flag was an insult to ubuntu.

“The Constitutional Court has time and again emphasised the importance of historical context when considering human dignity, especially the history of racialised inequality in SA, a unique attribute of which was the denial of human dignity to black South Africans,” he said.

AfriForum’s court appeal sparks outcry

On social media, many, including Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi and former DA MP Phumzile Van Damme, blasted the legal action.

Van Damme said it wasn't a surprise, saying AfriForum believes apartheid was not a crime against humanity.

Here is a snapshot of some reactions:

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