The African National Congress (ANC) has no legal basis to stop DJ Black Coffee from performing in Israel, says one legal expert.
Director of RM Attorneys, Ramatshi Mugeri, says that the ruling party may try to persuade Black Coffee, whose real name is Nkosinathi Mapumolo, from performing in Israel but legally they may not stop him.
Mugeri’s comments come after the Head of the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) International Relations Subcommittee, Lindiwe Zulu released a statement on 3 April 2018 saying that the party is concerned about the popular house DJ’s performance in Israel.
Zulu said, however, that the party is willing to engage with him.
Saying in statement that the party wishes to “open engagements on this issue with broadly with the creative sector, with view of ensuring that South Africa continues to play a critical role in helping resolve the crises of the Palestinian occupation.”
Mugeri said that Black Coffee may take the party to court should it try to stop him from performing in Israel.
He explains that “the constitutional element comes in because he can take them to court and challenge them on the that basis in terms of his rights to engage freely…with whomever he wants to engage with.”
Mugeri added that the ANC has raised a moral argument more than a legal argument.
“In terms of the law, Black Coffee is right, but it is a moral issue which cannot be enforced by the law. Black Coffee has done nothing legally but morally we can expect him to sympathise with the country or the people of Palestine,” he said.
The house DJ caused a stir recently when he uploaded a video on Twitter of his performance in the Israeli capital on 1 April 2018. The video, which included the caption “I Love you Tel Aviv,” received criticism from some social media users and left-leaning political figures.
Black Coffee responded to the criticism by posting on his Twitter account.
Writing on the platform that “Like everyone else I have rights and free will and no Black Coffee is not a political party…I work as an entrepreneur to feed my family. To sum it up…I’ll take bullet for my family.”
