South African court rules flying apartheid-era flag is act of ‘hate’

A COURT yesterday barred the unjustified display of South Africa’s apartheidera national flag in a landmark ruling that Afrikaans groups said they would oppose.

Judge Phineas Mojapelo said in Johannesburg that flying the old blue, white and orange flag for reasons other than educational, artistic or other purposes in the national interest amounted to “hate speech” and “harassment”.

“It demonstrates a clear intention to be hurtful, to be harmful and incite harm and it in fact promotes and propagates hatred against black people … it constitutes hate speech,” he said.

Those who breach the ruling may be fined or given community service.

The decision came after the Nelson Mandela Foundation Trust petitioned the court over the public display of the flag at a protest against the murders of white farmers in 2017.

Sello Hatang, trust chief executive, welcomed the ruling as a “building block” for reconciliation.

The organisation said it “affirms our rights not to suffer hate speech, our rights to dignity and to a meaningful freedom of speech”. Afriforum, a largely Afrikaans lobby group that organised the 2017 protest where the flag was displayed, and which opposed the trust’s petition, said it would study the text of the ruling before deciding on further action.

Ernst Roets, of the group, said: “Our concern with this case from the outset has been that a judgment in favour of the Nelson Mandela Foundation would not serve the intended purpose, as state regulation with regard to freedom

‘It demonstrates a clear intention to be hurtful, to be harmful and incite harm and promotes hatred’

of speech in most instances results in bigger problems.”

The old flag of South Africa was flown from 1928 until 1994, when it was replaced by the present design before the first post-apartheid election.

Afrikaans groups say the flag is a part of their national heritage. It is sometimes displayed by Right-wing groups and at rugby matches.