South African opposition leader Julius Malema has been denied a visa to travel to the United Kingdom to speak at a conference hosted by the University of Cambridge, prompting accusations of political silencing from his party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
Malema was scheduled to address the university’s Africa Together Conference on Saturday, 10 May but said his visa application was not processed in time, despite the delegation having applied early and paid for priority service.
In a leaked letter to EFF senior member Godrich Gardee, UK High Commissioner Antony Phillipson apologised, citing the “necessary steps required to consider visa applications” and recent UK bank holidays as contributing to the delay.
He acknowledged the disappointment, especially given that the delegation had made arrangements in advance.
‘Deliberately stalling’
The EFF accused the UK High Commission of deliberately stalling the visa process to prevent Julius Malema from speaking, calling it an attempt to suppress a dissenting political voice.
Malema, a vocal critic of Western policies and advocate for radical economic reform in South Africa, including land nationalisation, called the decision “unacceptable and spineless.”
The UK Home Office declined to comment on the individual case, but agreed to refund the visa application fee.
The incident has sparked criticism from EFF supporters, who view the delay as a politically motivated act rather than an administrative mishap.
Anything sinister on the part of the UK Home Office – or just ‘one of those things’?
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