Johannesburg - Agricultural union TLU SA has requested National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi to urgently make a decision about prosecuting Black First Land First (BLF) leader Andile Mngxitama.
On December 11, the TLU SA laid a charge of hate speech against Mngxitama with police. The previous day, during a public rally in Potchefstroom in the North West, he threatened to "kill five white people for every one black person killed", the TLU SA said in a statement.
"He further made threats against women and children, 'We will kill their children, we will kill their women, we will kill anything we find on our way'.”
“We’ve not had any feedback regarding the process yet,” TLU SA president Louis Meintjies said in the statement.
"After various phone calls and emails we hand-delivered a letter to the office of the NPA. It was signed for by advocate E Matzke on behalf of the deputy director of public prosecutions and she undertook to give feedback within two days. We’ve not heard anything,” he said.
Requests were made by various groups to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to withdraw the BLF’s registration as a political party standing in the coming elections. The IEC’s code of conduct prohibits political parties to use language that could incite violence or intimidate voters. However, the IEC said that these rules were only valid during election times.
Then just this week, Mngxitama made it clear during the BLF’s registration for the elections at the office of the IEC that white people were not welcome in his party, Meintjes said.
“This kind of hate speech spewing from his mouth continuously is extremely inflammatory and often the spark to lead to violent attacks and even murder on farms. The NPA is failing in its mandate to prosecute a hate speaker like Andile Mngxitama. He is literally getting away with murder.”
The TLU SA called on the public to put pressure on NPA national director Batohi to prosecute him, Meintjes said.