AfriForum welcomes dismissal of Major Mohlala after hate speech

The civil rights organisation AfriForum welcomes the dismissal of Major M.V. Mohlala, after a lengthy process of internal reviews and investigations by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). This followed after Mohlala commented on a social media post (by the son of a white elderly assault victim) that the attacker “[s]hould actually have poked out the victim’s eyes and tongue so that the last people he would ever see, were the killers and he could go to his grave with the nightmare”. Mohlala also wrote: “Apartheid is in him. All of these old white people think we are stupid when they say they were opposed to apartheid. We will not forget what they have done. Now it is the white people’s turn.”

Willie Spies, AfriForum’s Legal Representative, says that the decision by the SANDF and the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans follows a written request by AfriForum lawyers six weeks ago requesting the reason from the Minister for the decision to only warn Mohlala at the time. In terms of Section 105(1) of the National Defence Act (Act No 42 of 2002) a member of the SANDF is criminally liable for hate speech given the fact that the SANDF must play a unifying role in South Africa.

“AfriForum will closely monitor further developments in this matter and will institute private prosecution against Mohlala if necessary,” says Spies.