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The Western Cape Superior Court has dismissed Brackenfell High School’s request for an injunction against the EFF protesting off school grounds.
The request was submitted by the school’s governing body (SGB) last month.
Brackenfell High School had argued in court that the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) had a “history of violence,” while the party responded by saying the school was not treating racism as seriously as it should.
Judge Sirajudeen Desai Dismisses Brackenfell High School’s Application in Favor of EFF@EFFSouthAfrica @Julius_S_Malema @DlaminiMarshall pic.twitter.com/2pZoIi1WI8
– EFF_Western Cape (@EFFWesternCape_) December 23, 2020
This was after multiple protests near the school premises that ended in violence. The school went to court after the EFF threatened to continue its action.
The protests came after an alleged private event, held by the parents of the school, which welcomed only white students and allegedly did not invite black students.
EFF defender Dali Mpofu said that while children should be protected, it should be about “absorbing racism”, not “protecting them from stun grenades.”
He noted that it was common cause that the EFF had twice peacefully protested against racism in November, the second time being attacked by “hooligans and racism vigilantes.”
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And while the school, in a statement the day after the violence, described the attack on party members as “shameful”, Mpofu noted that on the same day it had approached the Western Cape Superior Court, “to intercept the victims. “.
“It’s a typical South African reaction,” said Mpofu, criticizing what he called the “boldness” of the app. He argued that it should be discarded as “frivolous”.
“Racism is violence. It is the worst form of violence. It cannot be perpetrated without violence or the threat of it ”.
‘EFF has a history of violence’
But according to defender Marius Verster, for the school, the EFF had a history of violence, commenting that they even had “the word fighter in their name.”
Judge Siraj Desai dismissed this as the introduction of an “irrelevant factor”.
“They also have economic in their name. Isn’t this also an important factor in one of the most unequal countries in the world? Desai asked.
Mpofu argued that it was a fact that there had been a party attended by only whites.
He said an affidavit presented to the court showed that the director had known about the party before it happened. It was also common cause that three teachers had attended, he said.
WATCH: Tear gas, water cannons used to repel EFF protesters at Brackenfell High
“The school, at worst, is guilty of acquiescence,” he argued, saying that racism “was not being treated as a crime as serious as it should be.”
Desai agreed, saying that if attendees had smoked dagga at the party, the school would certainly have stepped in, questioning why this was not the case if the racism was apparent.
Before the recent mass meeting, Desai had refused to grant the SGB an urgent injunction after the EFF promised not to disrupt school activities before the full case was heard.
The party had requested and been granted permission to organize its legal protest, with a limit of 100 participants.
Additional Reports from News24 Wire
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