“Hitler loving” Mcebo Dlamini found guilty of public violence

NICOLA MILTZ

The former University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) student leader who took part in the Fees Must Fall student protests in 2015 was sentenced to two years and six months with a suspended sentence of five years. He had pleaded guilty to public violence and contravening South Africa’s immigration laws.

For the past four years, Dlamini has faced a protracted legal battle in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court over the part he played in the student protests.

The embattled LLB graduate will now no longer be allowed to pursue his legal career.

Also in 2015, Dlamini made a string of comments on Facebook professing his love and admiration for Adolf Hitler.

Numerous complaints were lodged with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) following Dlamini’s inflammatory and anti-Semitic remarks. The HRC is yet to deliver its finding.

Last year, he told the SA Jewish Report he was willing to apologise for his remarks as he wanted to “put the matter behind him” and pursue his political career with the African National Congress Youth League.

His comments go back to a Facebook discussion on 25 April 2015. His remarks and other disciplinary issues at Wits resulted in him being expelled as a member and president of the Student Representative Council.

At the time, Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Adam Habib, labelled Dlamini’s Hitler remarks as “racist and offensive in the extreme”. Dlamini defended his remarks saying that he “admired Hitler’s organisational skills”.

Dlamini is said to have made several other inflammatory, anti-Semitic comments earlier in 2014, also on Facebook and on radio.

The Swaziland-born law student was arrested in 2016 for involvement in Fees Must Fall, and charged with violating a court order, public violence, theft, malicious damage to property, and assaulting an officer during the protest. In August 2019, he embarked on a 56.6km walk from Wits to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to ask President Cyril Ramaphosa to release student activists arrested during the #FeesMustFall protests.

Dlamini, who was defended by lawyers Dali Mpofu and Aviwe Yakopi, is contemplating whether to stay in South Africa. According to his lawyers, he was born in Swaziland but his parents are from South Africa.