Julius Malema, an opposition politician for South African fire trucks, says he was denied a visa to attend a meeting in the UK on May 10th.
Malema said the UK saw the decision as “substantial justification” and as an “attempt to silence opposing political perspectives.”
In a leaked letter to Malema's agent, British South Africa High Commissioner Antony Phillipson said the Home Office was unable to process his visa application in time for his trip.
Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) Party, is a fierce critic of what he considers as “Western imperialism,” and also advocates nationalisation of white lands in South Africa.
The EFF is South Africa's fourth-largest party, winning 9.5% of national votes in last year's election.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs told the BBC it had not commented on individual cases.
In a post on X, the EFF said the High Commissioner was unable to speak at Cambridge University on May 10 due to the “active delay in processing and approval” of the leader's visa.
He had been invited to the university's African society to attend meetings with Africa, EFF added.
In his letter, which is said to be authentic, Philipson said he wanted to “personally apologize” for the UK's Home Office “didn't process the application due to necessary procedures due to the unfortunate timing of the visa application and the recent UK bank termination.”
He added that he had “personal interest in the issue” last week.
“We recognize this is a very unfortunate, especially as the delegation was applied in advance and some people were paid for priority services,” Philipson said in a letter to EFF's Godrich Gardee.
Phillipson added that the home office has agreed to refund the application fee.
Malema said in X that the EFF delegation had been promised that “everything will be sorted out,” but that he received a “relax letter of regret a few hours before departure.”
“This is unacceptable and has no spines,” he added.
The UK had bank or public holidays on May 5th.
More BBC stories about South Africa:
(Getty Images/BBC)
For more information about the African continent, visit bbcafrica.com.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCafrica, BBC Africa on Facebook, or BBCafrica's Instagram
