Gratuitous waving of old SA flag a form of hate speech
THE landmark ruling on the apartheid South African flag has been hailed as a national victory that will contribute to healing a painful past.
Speaking after the ruling, the ANC’s Dakota Legoete said the gratuitous waving of the old flag had long been a constitutional crisis.
“This is a national victory; we cannot continue to allow that particular act to continue… where a symbol, a flag which was regarded as a crime against humanity, to be promoted.”
Deputy Judge President Phineas Mojapelo yesterday ruled that the gratuitous waving of the flag is a form of hate speech.
“This is not a banning order of the old flag. The display of the impugned flag must be confined to genuine artistic, academic or journalistic expression in the public interest; any act beyond that may be brought to this court for the displayer to prove that the display was defensive,” said Mojapelo.
The application was launched by the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) after the 2017 protest against farm murders.
The foundation successfully argued that the waving of the flag was unconstitutional and violated the right to dignity and infringed on freedom of speech as it incited violence.
NMF chief executive Sello Hatang welcomed the ruling.
“There’s only one flag in South Africa, that’s the flag we should be proud of instead of them hurling insults by waving that flag.”
AfriForum, which opposed the foundation’s application, was not happy with the court outcome.
AfriForum deputy chief executive Ernst Roets insisted that waving the flag alone did not constitute hate speech.