By Enyichukwu Enemanna
British authorities have banned South African firebrand Member of Parliament and opposition leader, Julius Malema, from entering the UK, denying him a visa application.
The Home Office said Malema had been deemed “non-conducive to the public good” and that it was “undesirable” to grant him entry.
In a letter released by Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, the Home Office cited his vocal support for Hamas, including a speech he made after the 7 October 2023 attacks in which he said his own party would arm the Gaza-backed militia group if it came to power.
The UK said Malema had made “statements calling for the slaughter of white people in South Africa or hinted that it could be an acceptable option in the future”, citing this as a reason for its decision.
His EFF party condemned the decision as “cowardice”, alleging that it would stifle democratic debate.
The party accused the UK of distorting Malema’s views on how the “genuine frustrations of Africans who are excluded from the economy at the behest of a white minority may lead to social violence and resistance” in South Africa.
Malema and the party would not “trade” their “revolutionary beliefs in exchange for a visa”, the EFF said.
“The UK and all of its allies can keep their visas, and we will keep our Africa and a commitment to support the oppressed of the world, especially the Palestinian people,” the party added.
This is the second time Malema has been denied entry to the UK in just two months.
The first time, the UK government said he had submitted his application too late. This time, however, the BBC quoted a British official in South Africa as saying it was a “substantive decision”.
The Home Office said he has no right of appeal and was likely to be denied any future applications, according to the letter released by the EFF.
A Home Office spokesperson told the BBC: “It is our longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases.”
Malema is a fierce critic of what he sees as “Western imperialism”, and advocates the nationalisation of white-owned land in South Africa to address the legacy of colonialism and the racist system of apartheid.
In May, Malema featured prominently in a video played by President Donald Trump during a visit by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to the White House.
In the video, Malema is seen singing “Shoot to kill” and “Kill the Boer”, which Trump says incites violence against the ethnic Afrikaner group.
However, South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled that the lyrics do not amount to hate speech and were a “provocative way” of advancing EFF’s political agenda – which was to end “land and economic injustice”.
