The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) will see to it that shocking statements such as those made by the MK Party MP, Andile Mngxitama, regarding farm attacks and the gruesome attack on Mr Donovan Marx, whose ears were hacked off in an attack this week, do not go unpunished.
Today in a post on X and Facebook, Mr Mngxitama implied that Mr Marx is a “land thief” and that cutting off his ears is “symbolic to denote the refusal of land thieves to listen.” Such remarks are unacceptable and have no place in a modern, civilised society.
This is nothing but blatant hate speech and is typical of the brutality characterising many farm attacks.
The Freedom Front Plus will formally lodge a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (HRC) and Parliament’s Ethics Committee, as conduct and remarks of this nature are totally unacceptable, especially coming from a Member of Parliament who is required to uphold the Constitution.
Every Member of Parliament takes an oath to obey the Constitution’s provisions and the country’s laws, which explicitly prohibit hate speech. Members of Parliament also undertake to always conduct themselves in a manner that puts the interests of the public and Parliament before their own.
Mngxitama does not belong in Parliament. The MK Party should unequivocally distance itself from these statements and immediately suspend Mngxitama from the party to demonstrate that it does not endorse such conduct.
Even Julius Malema, leader of the EFF, made a turnabout this weekend when he condemned the attack on Mr Marx, its extreme brutality, and farm attacks in general. He, however, proceeded to sing the “Kill the Boer” chant, which is unacceptable.
The Freedom Front Plus has always maintained that statements amounting to hate speech prove that farm attacks are not ordinary crime. Mngxitama’s statements confirm this view, as it is an attempt to justify farm attacks on the basis that farmers are so-called “land thieves” who refuse to listen.
He will have to account for these rash remarks. The Freedom Front Plus will not remain silent in the face of incitement to violence and racialism; the party will keep bringing it to the attention of the world.
