Johannesburg – Upset by comments made by Nicole Barlow about struggle icon Chris Hani, the South African Communist Party on Monday said it was laying a complaint with the police.
Barlow, an environmental campaigner, and author rubbed the SACP the wrong way with her Twitter post referring to Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe in which she said: “They missed an opportunity to do a Chris Hani on him
Barlow was responding to a Sunday Times tweet, which said: Instead of joining Ramaphosa to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Danish and Dutch prime ministers, Mantashe attended a COSATU event in Boksburg .
The comment sparked an uproar on Twitter.
Unrepented, Barlow insisted she was exercising her right to freedom of speech and to “take aim” at politicians.
Chris Hani a liberation war hero and general secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP), was assassinated by right-wing extremist Janusz Walu? on 10 April 1993.
Reacting to the insensitive taunt by Barlow, the SACP said it “condemns” the comments and resolves to “lay charges” against her.
SACP General Secretary Solly Mapaila on Monday said: Given what happened to Chris Hani, we cannot take the utterances lightly.
The SACP added: “This also suggests they, the ‘We ’ in her tweet, ‘ missed an opportunity to do’ the same on Mantashe.
“In missing the ‘opportunity’, who else were they aiming at, besides Mantashe? Who else did they miss? Who else did they not miss previously?
“These are some of the questions that must be asked about the self-implicating utterances by Nicole Barlow”.
The SACP called on law enforcement authorities to not leave the threat on Mantashe, and possibly others, unattended.
The SACP said it was driving its campaign to secure a full inquest into the assassination of Chris Hani to unearth the whole truth and all the surrounding circumstances.
Dismissive of the hurt she caused to the SACP and those who revered Hani, Barlow was quoted as saying the vitriol and overboard accusations that her remarks were racist or were a threat of violence towards Mantashe were ludicrous and were not intended that way.
If the police feel I have a case to answer for, they may email me and I shall respond accordingly.
Barlow insisted her tweet did not meet the legal threshold of hate speech.
If I were to be found guilty for my remark, it would most certainly prove, once and for all, that our justice system is blind,” remarked Barlow.
Additionally, in South Africas law what is reasonable, fair, and can be proven must be read in context. Hidden behind any threat to someones safety and life must be intent.
Was there any intent to provoke and/or cause harm to Mantashe himself by a side comment?”
