Julius Malema Must Face International Sanctions: A Threat to Law and Stability

Julius Malema Must Face International Sanctions: A Threat to Law and Stability.

Julius Sello Malema,leader of South Africa’s fourth-largest political party and self-proclaimed Marxist-Leninist, has been found guilty of multiple offences under South Africa’s Firearms Control Act.

Malema gained international notoriety earlier this year when President Trump highlighted his violent rhetoric by showcasing visual material of him chanting “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer!”.

His response was that he would never stop singing it.

This East London’s Regional Court’s ruling dates back to the infamous EFF 5th anniversary celebrations, held at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape Province (2018). While on stage Malema, a now legally convicted criminal, fired seven shots into the air with an illegally possessed fully automatic assault rifle, recklessly endangering the lives of his supporters, violating at least three firearm laws.

The illicit use of what appeared to be an AK-47 sparked outrage among pro-firearm advocacy groups. Chairperson of the South African Gunowners Association, John Welch, condemned the incident as “reckless”, unacceptable and an abuse of the right to possess a firearm that deserves “serious consequences”.

The South African civil rights organisation, AfriForum laid criminal charges against Malema, securing a lengthy but victorious court ruling on 1 October 2025.

A History of Hate: The legacy of Dubul’ ibhunu.

Malema, well known for his divisive and racially charged rhetoric, made headlines in 2010 when he started singing the “Dubul’ ibhunu” or “Kill the Boer” hate chant at ANC Youth rallies during his time as ANC Youth Leader.

In 2010 the Pretoria High Court banned Malema from singing the chant, citing concerns that it is “likely to incite violence against South Africa’s white minority”. Undeterred, Malema continued to sing the highly controversial chant from podiums and stages.

In 2011 the Equality Court found Malema guilty of hate speech after AfriForum lodged a complaint. Various case studies and comparative analysis clearly indicate a spike in farm attacks directly after the singing of “Dubul’ ibhunu”.

It is therefore concerning to note that, nearly 12 years after the Pretoria High Court’s condemnation of the chant and the spike in violent farm attacks, the Johannesburg High Court ruled that the chant was permissible and did not constitute hate speech.

The Equality Court likewise pivoted away from its 2011 ruling, stating that the chant is mere political expression that is not to be taken literally.

“Kill the Boer” is a well-known struggle song, sung by uMkhonto we Sizwe (the ANC’s armed wing pre-1994) during the Apartheid regime. The historical record is clear. The chant is (and always was) intended and understood as a literal call to violence, not mere metaphor, as is being claimed. Hundreds of attacks on civilians were carried out by ANC and PAC loyalists, including high profile bombings like the brutal Church Street Bombing (Pretoria, 1983), and the Magoos Bar car bomb in 1986.

Currently,no legal barrier in South Africaexists that would inhibit any influential figure from chanting this violent chant.

Glorifying violence abroad.

In October 2022, Malema addressed supporters at an EFF rally. He told the crowd that they must “never be afraid to kill”, stating that “killing is part of a revolutionary act”. In 2016, while questioned on his views of land expropriation, Malema claimed that he was not “calling for the slaughtering of white people, at least for now". In 2024 Malema authored a political report titled “Reversing Colonialism Requires Violence”. The report characterised his views on EWC (Expropriation Without Compensation), claiming that "Changing legislation to allow for land expropriation without compensation is a form of organised violence against white supremacy."

Malema’s romanticisation of violence is hardly surprising, given those he holds in high regard. During the 1980s, former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe deployed the notorious ‘Fifth Brigade’ into regions inhabited by those he labelled dissidents. What resulted was the brutal Gukurahundi massacre. Over 20 000 citizens were mercilessly slaughtered, most of them unarmed civilians. After Mugabe’s death in 2019, Malema stated that he would be remembered as a hero, that “history would one day absolve him” and that Mugabe was “a perfect human being” .

Shortly after the horrific terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7 2023, Malema led a protest outside the Israeli embassy. While addressing the crowds, Malema vowed to arm Hamas should the EFF win the 2024 elections, stating that there was “nothing wrong with what Hamas did”. He went on to say that “when you are oppressed the only option is to confront the enemy and shoot to kill” and that “condemning Hamas is an act of cowardice”.

Malema has often expressedcontempt for the West, calling for leaders like Fidel Castro and Gaddafi, praising their hostility towards Western allies. In February 2011, Human Rights Watch reported a minimum of 233 civilian deaths in just four days after Gaddafi’s forces opened fire on crowds and funeral marches. Most of the deaths occurred in Benghazi and the eastern cities around it.

In response to the Benghazi massacre, Malema repeated Gaddaffi’s propaganda line stating that “Gaddafi did not open fire against civilians. He opened fire against rebels…”

The domino effect of extremism.

Africa does not need another dictator. The West needs to take a proactive and holistic approach by implementing both broad and individual sanctions where appropriate. Diplomatic measures must be used to counter Malema’s extremist rhetoric before it escalates into regional instability.

International sanctions, like those taken against Mugabe’s Zanu-PF leaders by the US and EU, must be implemented. Malema’s ability to build global networks and fundraise must be obstructed via asset freezes and travel bans. Diplomatic isolation is crucial to ensure that access to global forums like the UN, AU, and EU parliament will be denied, impeding attempts at legitimising extremist rhetoric.

In May 2025 the UK Home Office took the much-needed first steps in proactively denying Malema a visa to attend a speaking engagement at Cambridge University. Reasons cited were his unrelenting support of terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as his glorification of racially motivated violence.

By failing to act, the West will continue feeding the very machine that legitimises Malema’s radicalism. American taxpayers should not be funding organizations that allow him to endanger lives and spread anti‑Western hatred.

Institutional failure and complicity.

The ANC-led government and some of its Chapter 9 institutions have shown a concerning acceptance of Malema’s racialised actions. In 2018, a mere few days after Malema publicly stated that he is “cutting the throat of whiteness”,President Ramaphosa publicly expressed his desire for Malema to return to the ANC, stating that“We would love to have Julius Malema back in the ANC. He is still ANC down, deep in his heart”. Equally complicit in their lack of condemnation is the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). Founded in 1995, the SAHRC was created to protect, promote and monitor human rights violations in South Africa in an attempt to uphold the constitutional rights of all its citizens.Malema’s utterances in 2016 stating that “we are not calling for the slaughter of white people, at least not for now” were ruled as permissible and not hate speech by SAHRC Chairperson Bongani Majola in 2019 during a media briefing. Majola went on to say that hate speech needs to be determined based on the race of the person accused. The commission asserted that thoughMalema’s words could be “hurtful” to the white minority group, it should be viewed as a positive, due to the fact that “white people will not be killed under his leadership”.

This is highly concerning given the fact that Malema has outright refused, numerous times in public, to vow never to call for such a slaughtering when pressed to do so, stating that “it could be me” during a cross-examination by AfriForum advocate, Mark Oppenheimer.

It is woefully ironic that the institutions founded with the intent to create a South Africa that protects all its citizens equally, are the very institutions that enable anti-Western radicals, like Julius Malema, to spread racialised hatred, intensifying the racial tension so strongly felt by South Africa’s minority groups.

Targeted sanctions, not collective punishment.

Malema’s continued anti-Western rhetoric in South Africa further erodes western influence. The continued geopolitical alignment with BRICS-allied partners serves to weaken US and EU diplomatic ties and leverage across the Sub-Saharan region.

A holistic Western response should combine economic and diplomatic pressure, while also applying targeted sanctions, ensuring that justice strikes the guilty, not the governed. While arguments to end AGOA agreements for South Africa hold merit, it is the innocent who will suffer beneath the blind hammer of collective punishment alone.

During the 1980’s to 1990’s the US and Europe withdrew aid and imposed trade restrictions on the DRC, formerly Zaire. The sanctions imposed came as a response to the corruption, repression and human rights violations that spanned over 30 years under Mobutu Sese Seko’s dictatorship. Though the West’s response was well-intentioned, these sanctions did very little to curb Seko’s personal enrichment while innocent civilians starved under near-total economic collapse.

If decades of monitoring human rights violations specific to Africa have taught lawmakers anything, it is this: Governments originating from liberation movements, like the ANC, have consistently displayed a high tolerance for hardship. A holistic approach to sanctions is necessary to ensure that effective pressure is placed, not only on the ANC government, but all relevant role players that actively enable their current regime.

Accountability must be reinforced through active ICC oversight of political violence and hate speech in South Africa. Global funding towards South African NGO’s and civil rights organisations must be redirected towards those that champion democratic and western values, while actively denouncing hateful rhetoric. A push for a more sustainable system of government is South Africa can be achieved through a combination of broad-based and individual sanctions. Selective tariff exemptions should be considered for corruption-free entities allied to Western ideals to achieve more effective political pressure.

Institutional paralysis and moral decay.

Those with the power to steer the ship have turned a blind eye to the mutiny threatening to break down the very fabric of South African society. It is clear that South Africa does not have a problem with isolated rogue politicians but rather faces a systemic problem that enables the government and supposed watchdogs of human rights to protect calls for racial violence.

Holistic policy proposals, like those of Lex Libertas, prove that the guilty can be punished without harming the same civilians those sanctions seek to protect. The systemic issues within the South African government require a macro-political solution that enables a decentralisation of power and self-determination that empowers communities to hold their leaders accountable. These means are vital in order to prevent rampant corruption from continued infection within South African society. The West needs to do everything in its power to ensure that justice is served before South Africa has yet another massacre on its hands.

The time to act is now.