Divisive South African politician Julius Malema was handed a brief suspension by Twitter last night, after the social media company found that he had “…violated the Twitter Rules” with regards to recent posts on the service. The 12-hour suspension looks like it was automatically triggered and, as of this morning, Malema’s suspension has ended.
Julius Malema is briefly booted
So @Twitter has temporarily suspended the account of CiC @Julius_S_Malema for tweeting #NoToSoldiers & stating the fact that “War is declared on civilians”?. The white capitalist establishment is desperate to protect their puppet who’s failing to provide leadership! pic.twitter.com/ouOfD3RTvr
— Floyd Shivambu (@FloydShivambu) July 13, 2021
We’re not exactly sure what the EFF politician did to get kicked off the service. Malema’s most contentious tweets over the past few days are still up and active, despite one calling for EFF members to join the ongoing unrest in the event that the SANDF is deployed. That tweet in particular has been seen as an incitement to join the violence and looting that has rocked parts of South Africa over the past several days.
The DA issued a statement about the suspension, according to website The South African, which reads, “For his part, Julius Malema threatened on Twitter to join the anarchy on the streets if the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is deployed and likened the deployment to a declaration of war against civilians instead of an attempt to maintain law and order.”
“The lack of action on the part of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the South African Police Service (SAPS) to act against those who use their platforms to incite violence, looting and anarchy are alarming. The Zumas and Malema must be prosecuted without fear or favour.”
I'm back, and please help me find our Gogo. Already dispatched the legal team to look for her at the police stations this morning. 😢 pic.twitter.com/HUicu0BNEF
— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) July 14, 2021
Malema’s suspension ended this morning, without the politician having to delete or remove any content he had previously posted. So far there has been no action by Twitter against other prominent voices, notably Jacob Zuma’s children, who have been seen to be inciting violence on the social media platform.