The ANC plan to strip people of their citizenship if they criticise South Africa

Freedom Front Plus leader Corne Mulder said the ANC’s plan to crack down on people who criticise South Africa is misguided and against the Constitution.

He shared his views on the ANC’s proposal to take action against citizens who criticise the country in an interview with Alec Hogg on Biznews.

The issue was raised by Supra Mahumapelo, an ANC MP and Chair of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation.

He suggested that South Africans or organisations that lobby foreign governments or criticise South Africa abroad are committing treason.

He argued that the deterioration in relations between Pretoria and Washington is the work of AfriForum, Lex Libertas, the Freedom Front Plus, and Solidariteit. 

He proposed investigating criminal charges or legal mechanisms to revoke citizenship for those engaging in such actions.

Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, also backed tighter scrutiny on civil society and political groups lobbying internationally.

When the DA’s Ryan Smith objected that the proposal would infringe on the constitutional right to free speech, the minister replied that free speech had limits.

However, this plan did not go down well with opposition parties and advocacy groups who said that it attacks basic constitutional rights.

The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) condemned Mahumapelo’s proposal, saying the campaigns mentioned came nowhere near treason or even disloyalty.

The Free Speech Union of South Africa (FSU-SA) also condemned the proposal, saying citizens must be free to criticise their government.

Mark Oppenheimer, Executive Director of FSU-SA, said that such a proposal threatens core constitutional freedoms.

“Giving politicians the power to threaten a critic’s citizenship would place an extraordinary weapon in the hands of the people whose conduct is being questioned,” he said.

“Political embarrassment cannot justify stripping citizens of their nationality for lawful speech.”

Corne Mulder said the proposal is misguided

Mulder told Biznews that, apart from the proposal being misguided, it is also not possible under the South African Constitution.

He said that Section 16 of the Constitution protects freedom of expression, including the exchange of information and ideas.

He added that Section 20 of the Constitution provides that “No citizen may be deprived of citizenship.”

Mulder added that the irony is that not a single word they uttered anywhere in the United States was treasonous, anti–South African, or treacherous.

“On the contrary, we went to the United States with a very clear message: ‘Please protect South Africa’s participation in AGOA,” he said.

“It is in the interest of our country, our agricultural sector, and our farm workers. We risk losing 500,000 jobs if we do not remain part of AGOA.”

He added that they further urged the United States not to impose sanctions on ordinary South Africans.

“We did not go there to slander our country. The ANC confuses criticism of the ANC with treason against South Africa. That is simply not how life works,” he said.

The Freedom Front Plus is not the only party which condemned the proposal. The DA also slated the plan.

Ryan Smith, the DA’s spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation, said it was a dangerous attack on the constitutional right to freedom of expression.

“It seeks to undermine the very foundation of South African liberal democracy for which tens of thousands fought and died,” he said.

“All South African citizens have the right to question and critique their government and its policies free of persecution. That is how free democracies work.”

“Mahumapelo’s comments put on full display the ANC’s arrogantly selective support for South Africa’s democratic institutions and principles.”