FOR their supposed betrayal of the nation that resulted in the US government cutting of vital lines of aid to South Africa, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) responded by opening a criminal case of treason against the heads of Afriforum on Monday.
The MKP accused the civil rights group that advances the interests of Afrikaners of purveying various untruths about government policies that has resulted in the US challenging the sovereignty and removing certain benefits the country enjoyed previously.
Some of the adverse action that US President Donald Trump directed at South Africa included the shutting down of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), plans to cut US funding to South Africa over the Land Expropriation Act, and prioritising a refuge programme for white Afrikaner South Africans.
MK Party deputy president Dr John Hlophe engaged the media after registering the case, which he said was the result of “the interventions made by the AfriForum”.
“The MK Party vehemently condemns the treasonous actions of AfriForum, which has deliberately lobbied foreign powers to act against the sovereignty and economic interests of South Africa.
“Their betrayal is nothing less than an act of economic sabotage, a direct assault on our nation's independence and a dangerous attempt to undermine the will of the people.”
Hlophe, a former judge, explained that under South African common law, treason is committed when an individual or group, with hostile intent, unlawfully engages in conduct aimed at undermining the authority, sovereignty or security of the state.
“The courts have provided legal clarity on treason in several cases, establishing principles that remain applicable today. The manner in which the AfriForum has engaged the Trump administration in the US meets this definition,” Hlophe said.
“AfriForum’s direct appeal to a foreign government, which has resulted in economic retaliation against South Africa, aligns with many legal precedents. AfriForum has a long and disgraceful history of opposing South Africa’s democratic transformation, shielding the racist economic interests of the privileged European settler elite, while disregarding the suffering of the oppressed majority.
“Their latest act of treachery—lobbying the US government to impose punitive economic measures on South Africa — is a deliberate attempt to weaken our state through external pressure.”
Hlophe said that the same apartheid law that their forebears made and used against the country’s freedom fighters must be unleashed against AfriForum.
“We demand that the full force of the law be brought against them.”
SAPS spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut confirmed that a case of High Treason was registered at Cape Town Central Police Station after a complainant reported an incident.
“The circumstances are under police investigation. The identities of the parties concerned cannot be disclosed to the media.”
AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said that they won’t be losing any sleep over the cases of high treason being opened against them, including that by the MK Party.
“The fact is, we’ve seen in the last week many false accusations, but nobody could share specifically on what facts it is based on because there are no facts.“This is a real effort to divert the attention from those who should take responsibility for what is going wrong in the country, and that, of course, also includes former President Jacob Zuma from (the) MK Party…
“It is the President (Ramaphosa) signing the BELA Act and the Expropriation Act not AfriForum, so they should take full responsibility and not try (to) evade responsibility by blaming AfriForum. It won’t silence us.
“It won’t work with us, so we'll continue with the cause we believe is in the interest of everybody in this country,” Kriel said.
“We don’t take this seriously. Actually, if it is investigated, it would be great because you can only go forward with a case if there is substantial evidence, and we’re confident that there is no evidence.”
On Sunday, another community activist from Khayelitsha, Eric Kweleta, opened a case against the group. Traut had also confirmed that a case was registered.
The South African National Civics Organisation’s (Sanco) Peninsula Region also intended to lay charges against the group on Friday at the Khayelitsha Police Station. They said that they found it necessary to lay these charges in Khayelitsha, “a township that represents the continued struggle against land dispossession and economic exclusion”.
“Khayelitsha remains a symbol of forced removals, spatial injustice, and the failure to redress past inequalities, where the majority of people still live in overcrowded conditions with inadequate services, while a privileged minority retains disproportionate land ownership. The land injustice AfriForum seeks to deny is a lived reality in Khayelitsha and other marginalised areas, making it the most fitting place to take this stand,” the group said.
The Democratic Alliance has also called for a de-escalation in the rhetoric and divisive language being used following Trump’s executive orders.
DAILY NEWS