- The Equality Court has ordered Black First Land First spokesperson Lindsay Maasdorp to delete any offending statements from his social media accounts and not to advocate for the killing of any group in the country.
- Several complaints of alleged hate speech by Maasdorp were lodged with the SA Human Rights Commission.
- The Equality Court heard the commission's application and handed down judgment against Maasdorp on Friday.
The Equality Court has ordered Black First Land First (BFLF) spokesperson Lindsay Maasdorp to delete any offending statements from his social media accounts.
He was also interdicted from publishing any statements that advocate the killing of or violence against any group in the country.
Several complaints of alleged hate speech by Maasdorp were lodged with the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
Soon after, it instituted proceedings in the Western Cape High Court, sitting as the Equality Court, against him.- On 24 September 2016 on his Facebook page, during a conversation in relation to white people in South Africa, he posed the question: "When will we kill them?"
- On 25 September 2016 on his Twitter page, he wrote: "I have aspirations to kill white people, and this must be achieved,"
- On 14 December 2018, he published a statement on Twitter celebrating the murder of an elderly white couple to which he, in his tweet, stated "ratio: 5:1". This referred to an earlier statement by a member of the BFLF movement that five white people should be killed for every black person killed.
The Equality Court heard the SAHRC's application and handed down judgment on Friday.
"Maasdorp is ordered to delete any remaining offending statements from all his social media accounts and is interdicted from publishing any statements that advocate for the killing of or any form of violence against any group in South Africa," the SAHRC said in a statement.
READ MORE | BLF hate speech case referred to Equality Court for the dispute to be resolved
The court ordered Maasdorp to undergo sensitivity and diversity training at a suitable institution, which must be completed by December 2022.
He must also pay the sheriff’s fees incurred by the SAHRC.
The commission said it believed this was a significant judgment that went a long way towards its goal of eradicating all forms of hate speech on racial or other grounds.
