The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) said it had opened a criminal case of treason against the executive leadership of AfriForum on Monday at Cape Town Central Police Station as it believed that the organisation had deliberately lobbied foreign powers to act against the sovereignty and economic interests of South Africa.
The move comes after a number of actions taken by United States of America President Donald Trump against the country which includes - shutting down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), plans to cut US funding to South Africa over the Land Expropriation Bill, and issuing an order for the prioritisation of white Afrikaner South Africans through the United States refugee programme.
MK Party deputy president, Dr John Hlophe addressed the media after registering the case and referred to the executive order issued by Trump, which he says follows “the interventions made by the AfriForum”.
Hlophe said that they opened a case against the group because they want them to be prosecuted.
“The MK party vehemently condemns their treasonous actions of AfriForum, which has deliberately lobbied foreign powers to act against the sovereignty and economic interests of South Africa.
“Their betrayal is nothing less than an act of economic sabotage, a direct assault on our nation's independence and a dangerous attempt to undermine the will of the people.”
Hlophe, a former judge, explained that under South African common law, treason is committed when an individual or group, with hostile intent, unlawfully engages in conduct aimed at undermining the authority, sovereignty or security of the state.
“The courts have provided legal clarity on treason in several cases, establishing principles that remain applicable today. The manner in which the AfriForum has engaged the Trump administration in the US meets this definition,” Hlophe said.
“AfriForum’s direct appeal to a foreign government, which has resulted in economic retaliation against South Africa, aligns with many legal precedents. AfriForum has a long and disgraceful history of opposing South Africa’s democratic transformation, shielding the racist economic interests of the privileged European settler elite, while disregarding the suffering of the oppressed majority.
“Their latest act of treachery—lobbying the U.S. government to impose punitive economic measures on South Africa—is a deliberate attempt to weaken our state through external pressure.”
Hlophe said that the same apartheid law that their forebears made and used against the country’s freedom fighters must be unleashed against AfriForum.
“We demand that the full force of the law be brought against them.”
SAPS spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut confirmed that a case of High Treason was registered at Cape Town Central Police Station, after a complainant reported an incident.
“The circumstances are under police investigation. The identities of the parties concerned cannot be disclosed to the media.”
AfriForum CEO, Kallie Kriel said that they won’t be losing any sleep over the cases of high treason being opened against them, including that of the MK Party.
“The fact is, we’ve seen in the last week, many false accusations, but nobody could share specifically on what facts it is based on because there are no facts.
“This is a real effort to divert the attention from those who should take responsibility for what is going wrong in the country, and that of course also includes former President Jacob Zuma from MK Party…
“It is the President (Ramaphosa) signing the BELA Act, and the Expropriation Act not AfriForum, so they should take full responsibility and not try and evade responsibility by blaming AfriForum. It won’t silence us.
“It won’t work with us, so we'll continue with the cause we believe is in the interest of everybody in this country,” Kriel said.
“We don’t take this seriously. Actually if it is investigated, it would be great because you can only go forward with a case if there is substantial evidence, and we’re confident that there is no evidence.”
On Sunday, another community activist from Khayelitsha, Eric Kweleta, opened a case against the group. Traut had also confirmed that the case was registered.
SANCO (South African National Civics Organisation) Peninsula Region also intends to lay charges against the group on Friday at the Khayelitsha Police Station. They said that they find it necessary to lay these charges in Khayelitsha, “a township that represents the continued struggle against land dispossession and economic exclusion”.
“Khayelitsha remains a symbol of forced removals, spatial injustice, and the failure to redress past inequalities, where the majority of people still live in overcrowded conditions with inadequate services, while a privileged minority retains disproportionate land ownership. The land injustice AfriForum seeks to deny is a lived reality in Khayelitsha and other marginalised areas, making it the most fitting place to take this stand,” the group said.
The Democratic Alliance has also called for a de-escalation in the rhetoric, and divisive language being used following Trump’s executive order.