‘He is a thin-skinned bully who dishes out what he can’t take’ — Kunene to appeal Malema ‘hate speech’ verdict

01 February 2023 - 12:08
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Patriotic Alliance deputy president Kenny Kunene says EFF leader Julius Malema is 'emotionally fragile, like a child'. File photo.
Patriotic Alliance deputy president Kenny Kunene says EFF leader Julius Malema is 'emotionally fragile, like a child'. File photo.
Image: Veli Nhlapo

Patriotic Alliance (PA) deputy president Kenny Kunene has lambasted EFF leader Julius Malema for being a “thin-skinned” bully who dishes out what he can't take.

This after Johannesburg high court judge Motsamai Makume found the firebrand businessman and politician guilty of hate speech for derogatory comments about Malema in November 2021.

The court ordered Kunene to issue an unconditional public apology to Malema which must include a retraction of the original statement.

“I respect the courts in South Africa but I have strong grounds to feel the judgment handed down yesterday by Honorable Makume was wrong in law and will be overturned on appeal,” Kunene said.

He said his lawyers would approach the high court as soon as possible and would “respectfully” seek to appeal” the ruling.

“They will point out that the judgment failed to not only consider the arguments raised by my counsel in the matter, which in their opinion resulted in the incorrect outcome, but the judgment itself is at odds with established case law. I will retain faith the Supreme Court of Appeal will arrive at a different decision.”

It was truly rich of Julius Malema to take me to the Equality Court when he so proudly sings 'kill the Boer, kill the farmer', which somehow isn’t hate speech
PA deputy president Kenny Kunene 

Despite the pending appeal, Kunene said he was sure few people could have imagined his comments about Malema were so criminally horrendous as to be termed hate speech.

It was hypocritical of Malema wanting to insult but not be insulted, he said. 

“It was truly rich of Julius Malema to take me to the Equality Court when he so proudly sings 'kill the Boer, kill the farmer', which somehow isn’t hate speech. For me as a layman that is incitement to violence against a minority ethnic group,” Kunene said.

“Malema spews violence out of his mouth, over and over. It was shameless of Malema to take me to court after calling [public enterprises minister] Pravin Gordhan a 'dog' that must be kicked so the master can come out.

“Malema is a man with a thin skin. He’s emotionally fragile, like a child. He wants to demean others, but doesn’t want to be demeaned. I, however, will continue to describe him as I see him. He is an irritant and should be described in such a way that his irritation is described accurately.

“He is a classic example of a child who was not raised with any African values. Any child who was raised well would know you can’t insult people old enough to be your grandparents, especially if they’ve done you no harm, as Malema has done.”

The PA deputy president said the red berets leader has a history of insulting the young and the old, and even the wives of sitting presidents who are not in the public domain.

When challenged by Kunene, however, “he runs to the courts like a school bully juvenile delinquent running to the principal’s office”.

“I will not allow Malema to continue to have a free licence to bully and say whatever he likes about whoever he likes with no-one having the courage to return the favour. When I spoke without inciting any violence whatsoever, Malema ran to the court complaining that he was being 'hated',” Kunene said.

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