'I will not be silenced': MK's Khanyile to appeal election threat sentence

'In 2026 we are going for elections, which means on the campaign I must not say anything because I run the risk of revoking this judgment,' he says

The MK Party's Bonginkosi Khanyile wants to fight an Electoral Court judgment which found him guilty of contravening the electoral code. File photo.
The MK Party's Bonginkosi Khanyile wants to fight an Electoral Court judgment which found him guilty of contravening the electoral code. File photo.
Image: Freddy Mavunda

The MK Party’s Bonginkosi Khanyile intends to appeal an Electoral Court judgment which found him guilty of contravening the electoral code for threatening to bring elections to a halt.

He was fined R150,000, and the order was, however, suspended for five years.

Judge Esther Johanna Steyn on Wednesday found that Khanyile and fellow member Visvin Reddy contravened four laws of the electoral code, including one which stipulates “no person may prevent anyone from exercising a right [to vote]”.

Khanyile found himself in trouble after he had told reporters weeks before the May general election “there will be no elections without MK and [its leader Jacob] Zuma”. He also made reference that “soldiers” had been defeated during the July 2021 unrest, adding: “Do you think you can stop MK? Unleash all police officers, and we will meet toe-to-toe.”

He made the threats as Zuma faced disqualification from contesting the elections due to his 2021 jail sentence, which prevented him from running for public office as stipulated in the constitution.

Steyn found Khanyile’s remarks threatened to prevent the May 29 election. “His statements, assessed in the context of when and how they were said, would have been interpreted by a reasonable and informed observer as a threat to prevent the elections,” the judge said.

“He repeatedly stated that if their demands are not met, then there would be no elections. The statements that were made by both of them [Khanyile and Reddy] had the potential to create social unrest and instability in the country.”

Khanyile told TimesLIVE with the hefty fine hanging over his head, he would not feel able to speak freely in upcoming municipal and national elections.

“One of the conditions in the judgment is that I must not repeat the same sentiments for the next five years. In 2026 we are going for elections, which means on the campaign I must not say anything because I run the risk of revoking this judgment. In 2029 there will be general elections and this judgment will still be effective,” he said.

“It is a wrong judgment. I do not think I incited any violence. If I was going to incite violence, I was going to say: ‘If Zuma is not on the ballot, we are going to disrupt elections and go out and fight’. That is inciting. In my address, I did not say which method am I going to use [to stop] elections. The judgment is silencing my political speech.” 

The court, however, did not find him guilty of inciting violence but of breaching the electoral law, by unlawfully threatening to prevent people from voting.

Khanyile said he would finalise court papers for the appeal next week. 

TimesLIVE


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