AfriForum's head of policy Ernst Roets has drawn widespread condemnation on social media after he posted the old South African flag just hours after the Equality Court ruled against its public display.
Twitter users slammed Roets for his post, with some threatening legal action.
In his Wednesday ruling, Judge Phineas Mojapelo said displaying the old flag constituted hate speech and discrimination based on race. He added that the apartheid-era flag is allowed for academic, artistic and journalistic use only if there was a need and permission to do so.
Addressing journalists after the ruling on Wednesday, AfriForum, a minority rights lobby group, and the Nelson Mandela Foundation said they would work together to find common ground as advised by Judge Mojapelo.
NMF CEO Sello Hatang said the judgement was "not a victory" for his organisation until such time the judge’s concluding remarks are achieved.
Reacting to Roets' tweet displaying the flag, Hatang said he was disappointed.
AfriForum opposed the NMF's court application to have the old flag deemed illegal. The organisation said the subsequent judgement was a setback for freedom of speech in the country and that it would need time to study the judgement before it can respond comprehensively and detail its way forward.
- African News Agency (ANA)
