Far-Left South African Politician Says The UK Denied Him A Visa To Speak At Cambridge University

FILE - Economic Freedom Fighters party leader Julius Malema raises his fist at an election rally in Polokwane, South Africa, on May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File) (Thenba Hadebe/AP)

BY GERALD IMRAY

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA (AP) — A far-left South African politician renowned for his anti-West rhetoric accused U.K. authorities Wednesday of denying him a visa to speak at an event at Cambridge University for political reasons.

Julius Malema, the leader of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters opposition party , said the decision was effectively a ban on him addressing students and “an attempt to silence a dissenting political perspective.”

He posted on social media platform X that he had been assured that his visa was being processed but had received “a regret letter” informing him his application was not successful while he was at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport waiting for his flight to London.

Malema, who also uses the title “Commander in Chief” of his party, has previously demanded the U.K. pay reparations and apologize to African nations for colonialism. The lawmaker and his party have also accused the British monarchy of playing a leading role in the slave trade and colonial abuses.

The BBC reported that it had seen a leaked letter to Malema’s EFF party from the British high commissioner to South Africa personally apologizing that the U.K. Home Office wasn’t able to process Malema’s visa in time and saying it was due to procedural issues. The letter from High Commissioner Antony Phillipson cited “the unfortunate timing” of recent British national holidays, according to the BBC.

The Home Office didn’t comment.

Malema was due to speak at an Africa-themed event at Cambridge University on Saturday, his party said.

The firebrand politician, who was expelled from South Africa’s then-ruling African National Congress party in 2012, has also taken anti-Western positions recently on the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict. He has voiced support for Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and has accused Western nations of supporting and financing what he calls Israel’s “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza.

In October, the U.K. denied ex-South African lawmaker Mandla Mandela , the grandson of Nelson Mandela, a visa to travel and speak at pro-Palestinian events in several British cities. Mandla Mandela said he was informed by the Home Office that his visa had been rejected because of his support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which the U.K. considers a terrorist organization, and his presence was “not conducive to the public good.”

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