A controversial South African opposition lawmaker at the heart of the country's racial relations column has been denied entry into the UK.
The Home Office said Julius Malema was deemed “not dependent on the public interest” and that giving him an entry was deemed “undesired.”
In a letter issued by local media outlet news24, the UK government cited his vocal support for Hamas, including a speech that came after the attack on October 7th.
The UK said he called for a “slaughter of white people” and threatened to “take weapons,” as well as citing this as a reason to reject his visa request.
His Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) party, who ranked fourth in South Africa's parliamentary elections last year, denounced the decision as “co-disorder” and said it would curb democratic debate.
The EFF said the UK distorted Malema's view that “the true frustration of Africans who have been excluded (from the economy) at the request of minorities is being excluded.”
Malema and the party would not “exchange” 'revolutionary beliefs' in exchange for a visa, EFF said.
“The UK and all its allies can maintain their visas and we will maintain our commitment to supporting the oppressed people in Africa and the world, especially the Palestinian people,” the party added.
Malema was featured prominently in a video played by President Donald Trump last month when South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the White House.
In the video, Malema is seen singing “Shoot to Kill” and “Kill the Boer.”
However, South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeals determined that the lyrics were not equivalent to hate speech, but rather “provocative ways” to advance the EFF's political agenda, which was to end “land and economic injustice.”
The court added that “reasonably knowledgeable” would “understand that when a song of protest is sung, even by politicians, that the words are not intended to be literally understood, and that the gesture of shooting is not understood as a weapon or a call for violence.
Malema is a fierce critic of what he considers as “Western imperialism,” and advocates for the nationalization of white South African lands to address the legacy of colonialism and the apartheid racist system.
The White Minority Rules ended in South Africa in 1994, when Nelson Mandela and his African National Congress (ANC) came to power.
This is the second time Malema has been denied entry to the UK in just two months.
It was too late for the UK government to say that he had submitted an application for the first time. This time, a British South African official told the BBC it was a “substantial decision.”
The UK said he has no right to appeal, and according to News 24, it is likely that future applications will be denied.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs told the BBC: “No commenting on individual cases is a long-standing policy.”
Several critics of Malema in South Africa are likely to welcome the UK decision and hope that he will be more cautious in his official statements in the future.
However, his supporters are likely to argue that he is targeting him to express his view that Britain feels uncomfortable.
Official statistics show that unemployment in South Africa has risen to 33%, with blacks suffering the worst.
The EFF support base, composed primarily of young people, believes that more radical action is necessary to tackle racial inequality and injustice.
The party won less than 10% of the vote in last year's elections, dropping from third to fourth after losing support, primarily for former President Jacob Zuma's Umkont Wesswe (National Spear) Party.
