Cape Town - Widespread alarm has been raised at the apparent “silencing” of rogue former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema - who many argue has had his constitutional rights trampled.
Mondli Makhanya of the SA National Editors’ Forum told the Cape Argus on Monday night: “We may differ with Julius Malema on most issues, but freedom of expression and freedom of speech are principles that cannot be compromised.
“We would like to know on what basis and on whose instruction Julius Malema was barred from addressing fellow South Africans.
“If Julius Malema can be barred from addressing a crowd, from making a speech, on the whim of a police commander on the ground, or whoever gave the instruction from above, then who could be barred tomorrow?” Makhanya asked.
“Principle is principle, and it cannot just apply to people we like.”
Constitutional law expert Pierre de Vos of UCT said: “We have a right to freedom of speech, guaranteed in the constitution.
“Everybody is, in principle, allowed to speak to whoever they want to, whenever they want to. So his rights were clearly limited.
The question is on what basis, according to what law?
“The police cannot on their own decide that, because they don’t like what he says, they are going to prevent him from talking. That would be a… breach of the law and his rights.
“There are obviously legal avenues of stopping someone from speaking - one would be an interdict from a court, another would be if they imposed certain restrictions on a gathering - like saying that Julius may not speak - but that would have to be on the basis of clear evidence that his speech would lead to violence or serious damage to property.
“They didn’t want to say on what basis he was barred. So, on the basis of available facts, it seems the police were taking the law into their own hands.”
Western Cape Premier Helen Zille added: “Julius Malema is a citizen with all the rights accorded to him in the constitution, including freedom of movement and expression.
“If he breaks any law while he is exercising these rights, he can be arrested and charged by the police. But they cannot prevent him from exercising these rights if he has not broken any law and is acting within the framework of the constitution.
“Therefore, it may be appropriate to charge Julius Malema for things he has said in the past. But he cannot be prevented from saying things before he has spoken.
“Rights are indivisible. We must protect each other’s constitutional rights even when we strongly disagree with each other. If we do not, it will not be long before rights are further eroded.”
Anton Harber, speaking on behalf of the Freedom of Expression Institute, said: “I would hope that we’ve learned from the apartheid years that the worst way to deal with problems is to prevent people from expressing their views and consulting as they wish - whether you like them or not.
“We’re looking into what action we can take,” he promised.
Cape Argus