Juju to pay court costs

In addition to facing disciplinary charges for bringing the ANC into disrepute and causing a struggle song to be banned, embattled ANC Youth League president Julius Malema will have to fork out about R400000 to advocacy group Afriforum.

Johannesburg High Court Judge Colin Lamont ruled yesterday that the song Dubuli 'Bhunu (Shoot the Boer) constituted hate speech and interdicted all members of the ANC and the Youth League "from singing the song ... at any public or private meeting".

Lamont also ruled that the meaning of the phrase was "such a gross infringement of the target group's rights that it cannot be that Malema did not know he was acting wrongfully towards them".

The hate-speech case against Malema was heard over two weeks in April after Afriforum and agricultural organisation TAU-SA complained about his singing of the song on several occasions last year.

Lamont said that Malema's "moral culpability" justified an order for costs against him for a period of three days - which Afriforum estimates to be about R400000.

This figure excludes the legal costs of TAU-SA.

It was a surprise ruling - Afriforum had asked only that Malema be prohibited from singing the song because he was an influential politician.

But all ANC and youth league members have been banned by the court from singing it - a decision which has left the ANC and its alliance partners reeling in shock.

After the ruling, ANC lawyer Leslie Mkhabela said the "effect was not limited to one song".

"These lyrics traverse many other struggle songs. This is like rewriting the hymn book of struggle songs."

The ANC responded by saying it was "appalled" by the decision.

Party spokesman Jackson Mthembu said the ANC "will explore every possibility to defend our history, our heritage and our traditions."

The SA Communist Party described the judgment as a "very regrettable and indeed saddening development in society".

It lashed out at Afriforum and TAU-SA, which it called "right-wing fanatics who are hell bent to [sic] rewrite the history of our country and the struggle".

Lamont dismissed the argument of the ANC and the youth league that the song referred to a white oppressive regime and that the song formed part of South Africa's history.

"The Equality Act [under which the hate-speech complaint was brought] allows no justification on the basis of fairness for historic practices which are hurtful to the target group but are loved by the other group," the judge said.

Lamont also dismissed the argument that "Boer" in the phrase referred to an oppressive regime.

He said Malema had conceded there was an object to the verb "shoot" and that the object "is alive and well and living in South Africa".

"It is a simple matter to identify the object,'' Lamont said.

''It is those persons who received benefit from, and who promoted, the regime.

''These persons are, broadly speaking, the white Afrikaans-speaking members of society," he said.

Lamont dismissed Malema's claim that the media had incorrectly translated the phrase Dubul'iBhunu as "Shoot the Boer".

Indications are that the ANC will appeal the ruling.