LONDON – The United Kingdom has on Wednesday formally denied Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema a visa, citing his expressions of support for Hamas and previous remarks seen as inciting racial violence.

In a letter dated June 17, 2025, the UK Home Office stated that future visa applications are also unlikely to succeed unless Malema alters his stance. The UK Home Office said his presence in the country is “not conducive to the public good,” citing both character and association concerns.

The formal rejection marks the second time in two months that Malema has been blocked from entering the UK. This visa refusal follows a separate incident last month, when Malema was barred from travelling to the UK for the “Africa Together Conference” at Cambridge University.

Among the issues flagged was Malema’s public support for Hamas, which is an organisation banned in the UK under terrorism laws. “I note that you have made statements in support of Hamas, an organisation who are proscribed in the United Kingdom. In an address outside the Israeli Embassy on the 23rd of October 2023, days after the October 7th attack on Israel, you stated that when your political party took over following the 2024 South African elections that you were ‘going to arm Hamas and make sure Hamas got the necessary equipment to fight for their freedom’,” reads the letter.

The Home Office letter detailed multiple instances of Malema’s support for armed resistance. “In April 2024, the EFF, the political party which you lead, posted on X that the ‘Palestinian people have the fullest right to take up arms against apartheid Israel, and that the EFF supports the armed struggle of Hamas and Hezbollah’.”

The Home Office also cited an interview Malema did in October 2024, where he argued that the Hamas attack on Israel was a “legitimate act of resistance”, stating that “Hamas legitimately resisted Israel’s occupation of Palestine on that day. It was not an act of war. It is a battle for the freedom of the Palestinians.”

Beyond his stance on Hamas, UK authorities highlighted Malema’s controversial racial statements. “In 2016, you said that your political party was ‘not calling for the slaughter of white people, at least for now’.” The letter also referenced a 2022 Equality Court hearing where Malema reportedly could not guarantee he would not repeat such calls in future.

“Taking the above into account, your presence in the UK has been assessed as non-conducive to the public good on the grounds of your conduct, character and associations, which makes it undesirable to grant you entry to the UK.”

“Any future UK visa applications you make will be considered on their individual merits, however, you are likely to be refused unless the circumstances of your application change,” said the UK Visas and Immigration Decision Making Centre in a letter dated 17 June 2025 and seen by News24.

This formal denial differs significantly from the May incident. At the time, the British High Commission in South Africa issued an apology for delays in processing the application, citing UK public holidays and internal processing times. British High Commissioner Antony Phillipson personally apologised in a formal letter to Malema and his delegation, acknowledging that the group had applied early and paid for priority service.

At the time, Malema denounced the delay as politically motivated and accused UK authorities of attempting to “silence a dissenting political perspective.” “This is unacceptable and spineless.”

Civil rights organization AfriForum welcomed the UK’s decision. “Great news! This is only the beginning. AfriForum is intensifying its international campaign, calling on the global community to take punitive action against Julius Malema for inciting violence against Afrikaners and farmers with the “Kill the Boer” chant,” AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel wrote in a post on X.

Under the UK’s Immigration Rules, particularly Part 9 of the Immigration Rules stipulating various grounds for refusal, an entry clearance officer may refuse a visa for various reasons, amongst others if the applicant’s presence is “not conducive to the public good.”

The UK’s stance follows similar action against other South African politicians. In October, the U.K. denied ex-South African lawmaker Mandla Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela, a visa to travel and speak at pro-Palestinian events in several British cities. Mandla Mandela said he was informed by the Home Office that his visa had been rejected because of his support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which the U.K. considers a terrorist organization.