Lex Libertas report reveals government officials calling for the murder of white people; requests parliamentary hearing

PRETORIA — The think tank and advocacy group, Lex Libertas today released a disturbing new report, ‘The Celebration of Murder in South African Online Discourse’, which finds that politically motivated hate speech and the incitement of murder directed at the white minority are becoming socially acceptable phenomena across major social media platforms in South Africa. The report predominantly analyzes online responses following the assassination of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September 2025, but also references earlier cases. It reveals a worrying trend described by Lex Libertas as a ‘zeitgeist of euphoric-violence’. It further reveals multiple cases of government officials openly celebrating the death of white people, or actively calling for white people to be exterminated, sometimes in the most grotesque ways imaginable.

Among others, the following persons incited violence and were identified as past or present government officials based on their social media profiles:

- Lilly Pelle, Assistant Director at the North West Department of Education celebrated the murder of Charlie Kirk online.

- Rally Mohalane, employee of the Gauteng Department of Education posted a picture of the words ‘Kill all Charlie Kirks’.

- Xola Pama, an employee of the Department of Health, stated that white babies had to be killed and that the wives and sisters of white people had to be raped.

- Mduduzi Moffat Mumba, an employee of the Department of Employment and Labour stated that ‘all white persons that are fucken racist, starting with Steve Hoffmer and anyone that is associated with Afriforum’ (sic) had to be killed.

- Mveleli Mogolwane Gwabeni, a trainee at the South African Police Service stated that more farmers had to be murdered.

- Velaphi Khumalo, an employee of the Gauteng Provincial Government posted that ‘we’ (presumably the South African government) ‘must act as Hitler did to the Jews’ and that the country had to be cleansed of white people. Khumalo apologised and was reprimanded, but he still works for the South African government.

The study, based on nearly 150 public submissions, categorizes the severity of the online reactions and confirms that hatred and incitement are rife within South African online discourse.

Key Findings from the Lex Libertas Report:

- Celebration of Murder: 62% of collected responses were explicitly celebratory of Kirk’s death, featuring comments such as ‘he got what he deserved’ and graphic memes making fun of his murder.

- Incitement of Violence: 12% of responses involved explicit incitement of violence and included calls for public figures to be murdered.

- Institutional Concern: The report highlights that certain identifiable people working for government departments openly celebrate deaths or incite violence, demonstrating that this discourse is present across mainstream platforms and within state institutions.

- Double Standards: Lex Libertas attributes the unchecked nature of this hate speech to the government applying double standards in policing incitement and mainstream media reporting, which results in unequal enforcement of law based on the perpetrator's race.

‘The celebration of murder and the subsequent wave of violent online responses reveal a disturbing pattern: the social acceptance of hate-fuelled rhetoric that, when left unchecked, normalises, legitimises and encourages real-world violence,’ said Dr Ernst Roets, Executive Director of Lex Libertas. ‘The consequences are severe: weakened social cohesion, erosion of trust in public institutions, and heightened risk to targeted communities. This is a profound threat to the stability of the country.’

In response to these findings, Lex Libertas has announced a formal plan to challenge this trend. This included the following steps:

1.Parliamentary Hearing: Lex Libertas has formally requested that the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Police initiate a public hearing into the matter of the rise of online incitement and the celebration of violence in South Africa.

2.Employer Notification: Employers of individuals who openly encourage violence online will be informed of the conduct of their employees.

3.Public Reporting: Lex Libertas will continue to encourage members of the public to bring such cases to the institution's attention by visiting the website or by sending an email to veldtogte@lexlibertas.org.za.

4.Continued Research: Lex Libertas commits to publishing continued research on this matter.

The full report is attached and can be accessed on the Lex Libertas website.

Lex Libertas is a think tank and advocacy group working towards a viable political dispensation in South Africa, based on the principles of freedom, decentralisation, and self-governance. You can support Lex Libertas here.