African barred from inciting hatred against Indian community

A high court in South Africa has told a member of a radical forum in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province not to incite hatred against the people of Indian-origin.

The Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday moved against Phumlani Mfeka, a former member of Mazibuye African Forum, and prevented him from advocating hate speech and inciting violence, particularly against the Indian community, iolnews.com reported.

According to its Facebook page, the Mazibuye African Forum, a new radical forum, wants Indians to be excluded from affirmative action and black economic empowerment programmes.

The order banned Mfeka from discriminating against or advocating violence against the Indian community or any other community in the province and restrained him from making statements, "orally or in writing or by any means of electronic media", that may incite racial violence.

Mfeka was also ordered to remove any such statement from his Facebook and Twitter accounts.

On October 17, Ravi Pillay, a KwaZulu-Natal Member of the Executive Council (KZN MEC) for Human Settlements and Public Works, and Willies Mchunu, another KZN MEC member, obtained an interdict order against Mfeka.

The move was sought to forestall potentially devastating fallout from an anti-Indian text message sent by Mfeka to Pillay on October 16, prompting him and Mchunu to approach the court.

Mchunu in his affidavit stated that he and Pillay were in a meeting when Pillay received a text from Mfeka that promoted anti-Indian sentiment and advocated violence.

"He (Mfeka) and the organisation (Mazibuye African Forum) have received much media attention due to derogatory remarks they have made regarding persons of Indian descent. These remarks were not, however, as militant as the one referred to above," Mchunu's affidavit added.