The Constitutional Court, painstakingly, highlighted the history and development of Afrikaans as a language unique to South Africa. In doing so, the Constitutional Court stressed that references to Afrikaans as a ‘white man’s language’ are erroneous and inconsistent with history. Whilst acknowledging that Afrikaans ‘was undeniably employed as a tool of oppression’, the Court continued to recognise that the language  has now been adopted into a heterogeneous rainbow language spoken by many South Africans, the majority of which are black people, thus deserving of protection and promotion.  The Court emphasized that Afrikaans is spoken by black people in not only so-called “coloured” townships, but also in many African townships in several regions in the country.  It also pointed out the shameful denial of the Cape  Muslim origins of the language.

The Court contended that the decision by UNISA to phase out Afrikaans in its 2016 language policy was not appropriately justified as it adversely affected the right of Afrikaans students per section 29(2) of the Constitution. Further, the Court held that UNISA did not provide evidence in support of its decision to discontinue the use of Afrikaans.  In removing Afrikaans as a language of teaching and learning without applying its mind to the considerations in section 29(2), UNISA fell short of its Constitutional obligations.

The Commission views this judgement as empowering towards poor and marginalised Afrikaans speakers who seek access to higher education. Further, the Commission is cognisant of the fact that Afrikaans has been used in the past, by a minority in this country, to subjugate and marginalise other South Africans.  Accordingly, it is still viewed with mixed feelings by many people within the country.  However, in this democratic era we should reflect on our past with a deep lens and should seek to celebrate our diversity. Our Constitution makes provision for Afrikaans as an official language and enjoins the State to take reasonable measures to ensure that everyone receives education in a language of their choice. As such the status of all official languages are protected. The Commission believes that this judgement will go a long way in promoting multilingualism in South Africa.

Ends

Issued by the South African Human Rights Commission

Gushwell Brooks – Communications Co-ordinator Tel: 082 645 8573 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.