SOUTH Africa’s firebrand opposition leader Julius Malema has accused the British government of deliberately blocking his entry to the United Kingdom, saying the move was aimed at silencing his critical political views ahead of a scheduled address at the University of Cambridge.
Malema, head of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), said Wednesday that the denial of his visa to attend an Africa-focused event in Cambridge amounts to political censorship.
‘A deliberate silencing of dissent’
In a statement on X, Malema said he had received assurances that his visa application was being processed, only to be handed a rejection letter while at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport en route to London.
‘This is nothing but an attempt to silence a dissenting political perspective,’ Malema posted. ‘I was at the airport when I received a regret letter that my visa was not granted.’
According to his party, the EFF, Malema had been invited to speak at a Cambridge University event scheduled for Saturday.
Leaked apology from UK envoy
The BBC reported that UK High Commissioner to South Africa, Antony Phillipson, issued a private letter to the EFF, apologising for the visa processing failure. The letter cited delays caused by the ‘unfortunate timing’ of recent British public holidays.
While the UK Home Office has declined to comment publicly, the letter reportedly expressed regret that the visa could not be finalised in time. There was no indication of a political motive in the official explanation.
Legacy of colonial critique
Malema, known for his fiery rhetoric and unapologetic anti-colonial stance, has frequently called on the United Kingdom to pay reparations to African nations and formally apologise for its colonial abuses.
His EFF party has long criticised the British monarchy’s role in the transatlantic slave trade and the exploitation of African nations during the colonial era. The visa snub, his supporters argue, is the latest example of Britain’s discomfort with post-colonial critique.
Anti-West views on foreign conflicts
Beyond colonial issues, Malema has taken hardline positions on major geopolitical conflicts. He has openly backed Russia in its invasion of Ukraine and has accused the West of supporting what he describes as Israel’s ‘genocide’ of Palestinians in Gaza.
An EFF spokesperson stated: ‘This visa rejection is not an isolated bureaucratic error — it is part of a broader pattern of silencing African voices that speak against global injustice and Western imperialism.’
Malema’s exclusion from the UK has triggered a wave of criticism across African social media platforms, with many accusing Britain of undermining freedom of speech and engagement with alternative perspectives from the continent.
