“Kill the Boer” case: AfriForum brings official application through Court of Appeal over Acting Judge of Appeal Keightley’s non-recusal

21 September 2023

The civil rights organisation AfriForum has submitted an official court application to the Supreme Court of Appeal in which the organisation requests the recusal of Acting Judge of Appeals Raylene Keightley from the “Kill the Boer” case.

This follows after the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Appeal informed AfriForum’s legal team that he had requested Judge Keightley not to react now, but rather to wait for AfriForum to bring an official court application.

Based on this, AfriForum has now proceeded to bring an official court application which calls for the recusal of Judge Keightley and that the panel who has to decide on AfriForum’s appeal application against Julius Malema and the EFF’s “Kill the Boer” chant, be reconstituted.

This action follows revelations that Acting Judge of Appeal Keightley expressed strong opinions against AfriForum in a 2018 court case, which suggests that the organisation has clung to “anachronistic positions”. During that case, Keightley also stated that AfriForum might consider asking for her recusal if she were to preside over any future case in which they are involved – a situation that arose now with the “Kill the Boer” case in the Supreme Court of Appeal.

According to Ernst van Zyl, head of public relations at AfriForum, AfriForum’s court application is aimed at protecting the credibility of the judiciary. “Judges with clear perceived biases, as in Keightley’s case, create a substantial risk of eroding trust in these crucial legal institutions. A judge who truly respects the integrity of our legal system must act prudently and step aside from cases where they know a potential conflict of interest or clear bias exists,” adds Van Zyl.

Issued by Ernst van Zyl, Head: Public Relations, AfriForum, 21 September 2023