EFF’s Dali Mpofu launches campaign to strip FW de Klerk of Nobel prize

Prominent advocate and the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) former chairperson Dali Mpofu wants former president FW de Klerk stripped of his Nobel Peace Prize and has called on South Africans to come on board.

“If you think apartheid was a crime against humanity please join me in a non-partisan Citizens Campaign to approach the Nobel Foundation to take back the Nobel Peace Prize from FW de Klerk,” Mpofu said on Twitter.

‘Apartheid was not genocide’  

De Klerk sparked massive debate when he said that while apartheid cannot be justified, it should not be classified as a crime against humanity.

“I don’t fully agree with that. I’m not justifying apartheid in any way…I apologised for that, profusely apologised for that, but there’s a difference between calling something a crime. Genocide is a crime, apartheid cannot be, that’s why I’m saying this.

“It cannot be compared with genocide. There was never a genocide under apartheid. Many people died, but more people died because of black-on-black violence than because of apartheid,” he said in an interview with the SABC.

This is despite the United Nations resolution which officially declared apartheid a crime against humanity.

The remark, which was made in the wake of the 30th anniversary of former president Nelson Mandela being released from prison, sparked outrage from South Africans from all corners of society, including political parties.

It was arguably also the root cause of the EFF walking out of Parliament on Thursday 13 February, during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA).

ANC weighing in

The ANC, which came under fire after it defended De Klerk’s presence at the SONA said, also condemned the former leader’s comments.

“Mr FW de Klerk’s assertion in the interview, 25 years into our democracy, which denies that apartheid was a crime against humanity, flies in the face of our commitments to reconciliation and nation-building”, said ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe.

“The ANC calls on Mr De Klerk and his foundation not to undermine the compact that forms the foundation of our democracy, which is that we deal with the past through institutional mechanisms and the rule of law,” Mabe further said.

DA MP under fire

DA MP Ghaleb Cachalia also came under fire when he seemed to agree with De Klerk’s comments.

“Big words like ‘genocide’, ‘Nazi’, ‘fascist’, ‘anti-Semite’ and ‘crimes against humanity’ must be used accurately lest they lose their meaning. Apartheid was a pernicious system of social engineering, discrimination and repression. I too indulged in the hyperbole of youth. I now know better,” he said on Twitter.