Civil society group AfriForum has rejoiced at news that Economic Freedom Fighters EFF leader Julius Malema failed to get a visa to the United Kingdom UK.
Malema announced the alleged visa denial in a post on X on Wednesday 7 May, claiming that British authorities provided no substantial justification.
It is clear to me that this is an attempt to silence a dissenting political perspective, he claimed.
AfriForum celebrates Malemas UK visa denialOn Wednesday, AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel quoted Malemas post and described it as great news!
This is only the beginning. AfriForum is intensifying its international campaign, calling on the global community to take punitive action against Julius Malema for inciting violence against Afrikaners and farmers with the 'Kill the Boer' chant, Kriel wrote.
South African courts have failed to protect Afrikaners from calls for violence against them, and President Ramaphosa has refused to condemn the hateful chant. To ensure that Malema cannot act with impunity, international intervention is now necessary.
In 2022, the Equality Court ruled that the chant did not constitute hate speech, prompting unsuccessful appeals by AfriForum. In March, the Constitutional Court rejected the groups final bid to appeal the ruling.
A leaked letter from British High Commissioner Antony Phillipson has cast doubt on Malemas claim that he was denied a visa.
I have been following the processing of the necessary visa for Mr Malema and am writing to personally apologise that colleagues at the UK Home Office have said that they will regrettably be unable to process the application in time owing to the necessary steps required to consider visa applications and the unfortunate timing of some recent UK Bank Holidays, Phillipson wrote in his letter to EFF Secretary-General Godrich Gardee dated Wednesday, 7 May.
Malema was set to address students on Saturday 10 May at Cambridge University, which is scheduled to host its annual Africa Together Conference on 9 and 10 May.