Noting recent news headlines in South Africa, Ugandan lawyer and religious freedom advocate Evelyne Naikoba reflects on the implications of a law with the “elasticity” to punish incitement to violence or simple confessions of faith. Drawing on prophetic insights she urges the Body of Christ to “stand as light” when “faith is rebranded as extremism” and “the language of hate speech becomes the instrument to police it”.
On August 27 the Western Cape Equality Court found Julius Malema, leader of the EFF, guilty of hate speech for remarks made at a 2022 rally in which he urged revolutionaries not to be “scared to kill” and targeted specific groups.
While the ruling made headlines, the purpose here is not to debate Malema’s politics. Rather, his case provides a lens through which to examine a larger, pressing issue, being the growing reach of hate speech legislation and its implications for people of faith.
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Looking back, in April 2019, as South Africa approached elections, violent protests and xenophobic unrest erupted across the country, fueled by deep economic grievances and failing municipal services. Malema and the EFF were not the only actors in that turmoil, but their fiery rhetoric and mass rallies channeled much of the public frustration into highly visible political theatre. Analysts observed how his confrontational style provided both a script and a stage for societal discontent to spill into the streets.
Interestingly, months earlier, on January 1 2019, Ugandan prophet Elvis Mbonye had prophesied about the nation, where he recounted how, while in prayer, he was caught up in a trance during which he saw South Africa at election time in great panic, and heard the words: “This is building up to be similar to what happened in Kenya.” At that time, Kenya was still marked by the shadows of its post-election violence, where divisions tore communities apart. The prophecy revealed the possibility of an upheaval in South Africa including an overhaul of the National Assembly and a demand for fresh elections amid chaos. As he prayed, the Lord impressed upon him that when the signs of violence appeared, His hand would steady the nation and prevent descent into turmoil. Months later, in April of that same year, as South Africa’s 2019 election season approached, violent protests did indeed break out across the country. But unlike Kenya’s bloody spiral, the unrest was contained which testified of God’s hand upon the nation of South Africa.
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Malema’s rhetoric did not end there though; by 2022, his speeches had hardened into statements now deemed hate speech, resulting in his conviction.
Law strikes at heart of right to freedom of expression
One might then wonder how Malema’s predicament implicates the broader conversation on matters of faith. In May 2024, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act. Far from curbing racist rhetoric and fostering a freer, more inclusive society, this law strikes at the very heart of the constitutional right to freedom of expression. Previously known as the Hate Speech Bill, it has long been opposed by many within faith communities, who view it as opening the door to potential misuse. Their concern is that when inconvenient biblical beliefs collide with the demands of political correctness, simply voicing such convictions could be branded as hate. This fear is reinforced by a global trend of growing intolerance toward traditional, faith-based perspectives on sensitive issues.
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Unfortunately, this concern is far from hypothetical, seeing that in parts of Europe, laws against hate speech or offending religious feelings have been used to prosecute pastors and ordinary believers for upholding biblical teaching on issues such as family, gender, and sexuality. In the UK and Scandinavia, pastors have faced investigations for preaching texts that no longer align with the prevailing cultural consensus. Across North America, conservative voices and faith-based advocates are increasingly labeled “extremists” or “radicals,” often not because of violence but because of fidelity to unchanging Godly truths. The very elasticity of the term “hate speech” is what makes it a tool that can be stretched to punish not only incitement to violence but also simple confession of faith.
Just last week, the murder of Charlie Kirk sparked debates in which his views were dismissed as “radical” , while some global leaders such as former U.S. president Barack Obama, in discussing his take on the death of Kirk, repeatedly framed such conservative religious perspectives as ‘’extremist’’ views.
So then, do we hold up the white flag in the face of this increasing pressure and opposition? Thankfully, the Body of Christ is not without prophetic insight. Prophet Elvis Mbonye, among other things, has spoken of an era when persecution would not come draped in the crude garments of outright bans but in the polished robes of progressive legislation. From religious regulations to Hate Speech laws, he has revealed how terms like “extremist” and “radical” would increasingly be applied not to groups of people including believers who refuse to dilute their faith, who stand uncompromisingly for God’s ways.
However, he also awakens God’s remnants and the wider church to be aware that we are in a time where there shall be confrontation as never before between light and darkness and because of this, there shall be no place to hide because God’s people shall either be on His side or on the side of the dark one.
Loyalty to divine truth, rather than societal norms
The remnant, as described by Prophet Elvis Mbonye, are those God preserves in every generation when the larger body of believers drifts into compromise. Unlike the fallen church, which often mirrors worldly values and moves with the mob, the remnant stands apart in their fidelity to God’s ways. This inevitably places them at odds with both secular powers and compromised religious institutions, which seek to isolate, contain, or marginalise them through labels such as “heretic”, “cult”, “extremist”, “radical”. Such terms are tools of ostracism, meant to enforce conformity and suppress those whose primary allegiance is to God. Yet the willingness to resist such pressures, even at personal cost, is precisely what marks the remnant as trustworthy in God’s eyes. Their mission is not popularity but loyalty to divine truth, rather than shifting societal norms.
So, when faith is rebranded as extremism, and when the language of hate speech becomes the instrument to police it, will the Body of Christ cower under the weight of social approval and retreat into silence, or shall we stand as light in a darkening age?
As the return of the Lord draws near, these are not times to accommodate the spirit of the age. They are not times to exchange eternal truth for temporary peace. More than ever, now is the moment to confront darkness with light, to speak boldly and live faithfully with the unshakable conviction that the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God. Legislation may attempt to bind tongues, but the Word of the Lord cannot be chained.
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