‘Kiss the Boer’: Afriforum flags ‘double standards’ as court disqualifies witnesses
Judge Edwin Molahlehi found AfriForum’s Ernst Roets did not meet the required standards of an expert witness in terms of his qualifications, his neutrality, and independence in the Dubula inbhunu’ hate speech case.
The Equality Court sitting in Johannesburg on Thursday dismissed the case against the EFF leaders for chanting the political slogan “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” or “Kiss the Boer”.
Afriforum argued the song constituted hate speech and incitement to do harm.
The group lodged its complaint in October 2020 after supporters of the EFF sang “Kill the Boer, Kill the farmer” outside the Senekal Magistrates Court in the Free State, where the accused murderers of farm manager Brendin Horner were appearing.
On Thursday, Judge Molahlehi found the evidence given by the lobby group’s witnesses, including Roets, did not assist the court.
“The role of the expert witness is to assist the court and not to be partisan with the party that called him/her to testify. The value of the opinion expressed is largely influenced by their neutrality.”
He said it was clear even from Roets’ own version that he had a vested interest in the outcome of the case.
The judge also referenced the evidence of Duncan Prinsloo, who is a survivor of a farm attack in 2008, five years before the EFF was formed.
“There’s no evidence that at the time the song was sung it incited harm, promoted and propagated hatred against any specified group as far as the evidence of Mr Prinsloo is concerned,” he said.
However, when addressing media outside court, Roets said this was one aspect of the judgment that they find was not consistent with the Constitutional Court findings in the case of Jon Qwelane’s homophobic column.
“In that case, there were expert witnesses who were also gay who spoke about their experiences of being gay and it was accepted as it should be. Now, when it’s an Afrikaner testifying about his experience in a community where his friends and people in his community have been murdered. Then suddenly it’s dismissed and it’s not acceptable.”
He said they were concerned by double standards in the courts.
"We live in a political system, in a country in a legal system where; it's quite obvious; or this ruling makes it obvious; that when a leader of a political party blatantly and openly romanticize violence towards minority communities, it's condoned and it's accepted by the courts and that's something we cannot accept."
Meanwhile, celebrating their victory outside court the EFF’s Omphile Maotwe tore into the group and its witnesses.
“They must go read the law. They brought people here that don’t even know what the case is about.”
The judge said he did not find reason to reject the evidence of EFF president Julius Malema.
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