Pressly: Allowing ‘the wrong’ a platform to preach. Why we had to cancel Hofmeyr.

Giving provocateurs, racial nationalists, or even spies a platform places one in a tight spot. Is one fueling hatred or is one providing an opportunity to take the person to task? This was the conundrum faced by the Cape Town Press Club this week. In the end the club decided to cancel the invitation to singer – and Afrikaner nationalist – Steve Hofmeyr, which had generated negative publicity on Twitter. Donwald Pressly, secretary general of the Cape Town Press Club, said it was unfortunate they had cancel the talk, as he would have liked to explore why Hofmeyr sees the world the way he does. And in this piece he looks at whether people such as Hofmeyr and Julius Malema should be given a platform from which to preach. – Stuart Lowman

By Donwald Pressly*

Sometimes the decisions one takes in life puts one in a bit of a spot. As a collective the Cape Town Press Club decided to invite Steve Hofmeyr to address it this week on his views on the current state of the nation.

Julius Malema attacked a British journalist at an ANC press conference.

Hofmeyr, a singer by trade and a politician by threat, has been deeply involved in Afrikaner nationalist campaigns in recent years. Some of the things he has said are racist. He has physically attacked at least two journalists – one of whom is part of the Cape Town press corps. This is all general knowledge and the press club knew it, of course.

The club, however, is committed to providing an impartial platform to all points of view. That is why we invited Julius Malema to speak to us two years ago. Malema hasn't said nice things about white people (I mention them because I happen to be one) in particular. Actually some of the things he has said over the years are racist. Maybe it can be argued he has engaged in hate speech. He has also had a rather nasty altercation at an ANC press conference when he was still in the ruling movement.

It all happened back in 2010 when the then ANC Youth League's president attacked the media at a briefing, calling a British Broadcasting Corporation journalist a "bastard" and "an agent". When the journalist interjected and said that Malema was building a house in Sandton, he called on security "to remove this thing here". He also said: "Don't come here with your white tendency. Don't come here with that white tendency, not here, you can do it somewhere else." If the journalist, Jonah Fisher, had "a tendency of undermining blacks even where you work you are in the wrong place". When Fisher replied that was "rubbish". Malema responded: "Rubbish is what you have covered in that trouser, that is rubbish." One can't stoop to greater depths than that. He went on: "You are a smalll boy, you can't do anything. Bastard, go out, you bloody agent."

But the press club did not have a loud protest from our members about him when we invited him four years later, in 2014. In fact, if I recall correctly, we had over 100 people attending the lunch. He was a thoroughly absorbing speaker. He took all the questions with grace, including whether he was also a bit of a crook himself. See the story on the event to judge for yourself.

We also had President Jacob Zuma not long after he had been dismissed as the nation's deputy president by President Thabo Mbeki. He was out in the political cold. He drew a huge crowd – in his capacity as deputy president of the ANC – and announced that he would make himself available for president of the ANC (and ultimately of the country). He was facing that litany of corruption charges which are still a bone of contention to this day. There were some murmurs from our ranks about inviting him at the time.

We have invited other unpopular people like Olivia Forsyth, the apartheid spy, who just happened to attend journalism and politics classes with me at Rhodes University. She betrayed many people – including her old friend Bridget Hilton-Barber who was also in my class. (She actually apologised to Hilton-Barber at the press club event. Hilton Barber has just written a book about her entitled Student, Comrade, Prisoner, Spy.

We went ahead with Forsyth (whose book was published by the liberal publishing house Jonathan Ball), despite protests. I like to believe that we put Forsyth on the spot, a number of times.

We also had to cancel an engagement with Andile Mngxitama about a year ago. He had just left Malema's EFF in disgrace. He has since become a leading light in the Black First, Land First movement. Lack of interest in his talk forced us to cancel. I regularly use his writings, though, on Cape Messenger, because I believe he has a way of challenging – even rattling – our readers (who I believe are largely liberal). I hold the view that we need to challenge our own world view. I thoroughly disagree with Mngxitama, but I believe one needs to listen – and understand – what he says about black exclusion.

I believe it is unfortunate that we had to cancel Hofmeyr. I don't think he is a hero by any means. But I would have like to know why he makes racist comments, why he attacks journalists, and whether he is going to continue sprouting antagonistic messages. I also need to understand what he is saying about Afrikaner exclusion, the frustration of white people (I suspect largely working class Afrikaners) in the new South Africa. He clearly has a resonance among them.

But the general lack of interest and on top of it protest from a number of journalists persuaded the committee not to hold the function. I have always held the view, as a liberal, that one must defend to the last the right of people to be wrong. But it was not to be.

• Donwald Pressly, Cape Messenger editor.