South African activist in hot water over inflammatory tweet
Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The South African Communist Party (SACP) on Monday pledged to lay criminal charges against activist Nicole Barlow, who posted an inflammatory tweet about former party leader Chris Hani.
Hani was the leader of the SACP and chief of staff of the armed wing of the African National Congress when he was assassinated by Janusz Waluś, a Polish immigrant on 10 April 1993. The murder sparked race riots and threatened to derail South Africa’s historic democratic elections in 1994.
Barlow who was reacting to Mining Minister Gwede Mantashe attending an event in Boksburg on Saturday tweeted: “We missed an opportunity to do a Chris Hani on him.” Boksburg was at the Johannesburg suburb where Hani was shot dead.
SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila said: “Given what happened to Chris Hani, we cannot take the utterances lightly. Nicole Barlow implicated herself in what happened to Chris Hani.”
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said it has received complaints pertaining to the tweet, which on the face of it appears to be hate speech.
“The commission notes that the number of hate speech utterances made on Twitter and other social media platforms continue to increase, which is of great concern to us. The commission is currently assessing the case. The outcome of the assessment will determine the commission's next step,” said SAHRC spokesperson Wisani Baloyi.
-0- PANA CU/MA 27June2023
