BLF: Racial hatred case postponed

22 August 2019

Today, Solidarity’s racial hatred case against Black First Land First (BLF and Lindsay Maasdorp was postponed until 17 September 2019. This came after the BLF simply ignored the court date.

Despite papers properly served on the BLF, Justice Mokgoathleng ordered a notice of placement in Beeld, The Star andThe Sowetan because it is such a prominent case of constitutional importance, and the court requires the presence of the BLF.

“For Maasdorp and the BLF, this merely postpones the inevitable. Their day of reckoning will come, and it will not be pleasant for them,” said Anton van der Bijl, Solidarity’s head of legal services.

Solidarity filed the hate speech complaint against the BLF at the Equality Court on 14 February 2019 after receiving a mandate from the parents of the Driehoek school disaster victims.

The complaint followed after BLF spokesperson Lindsay Maasdorp celebrated the tragic death of four young learners on social media. He wrote: “I would ‘mourn’ the deaths of the victims if they turned out to be black but ‘celebrate’ them if they were white,” He further elaborated: “If our God has finally intervened and our ancestors have petitioned and seen that these white land thieves have now died then I definitely celebrate it. I celebrate the death of our enemies, their children, their cats and their dogs. That is our position.”

Issued by Anton van der Bijl, Head: Solidarity Legal Services, 22 August 2019