Al Jama-ah is set to lay formal criminal charges today, Monday 02 June 2025, against nine South African Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Democratic Alliance (DA), Patriotic Alliance (PA), and African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP). The charges, scheduled to be laid at the South African Police Service on Buitenkant Street in Cape Town at 14h00, arise from the MPs’ controversial visit to Israel in April and their view that there is no apartheid in the region.
The “fact-finding mission” in question was organised by the South African Friends of Israel. The delegation included DA MPs Glynnis Breytenbach, Emma Louise Powell, Katherine Christie, Bridget Masango, Liam Jacobs, and Bonginkosi Madikizela; PA MPs Ashley Sauls and Millicent Mathopa; and ACDP MP Steve Swart. Following the trip, the organisers, South African Friends of Israel, stated that the MPs would confirm that “Israel is a vibrant progressive multi-racial and multi-ethnic society,” as reported by Daily Maverick.
This visit sparked considerable controversy back home. The African National Congress (ANC) denounced the trip, stating it was not sanctioned by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) or Parliament, and called for a parliamentary investigation. The Media Review Network also called for a probe into the trip’s funding and objectives.
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Legal Basis for Charges
Al Jama-ah’s Western Cape Member of Provincial Legislature (MPL), Moulana Galil Brinkhuis, is spearheading the move to lay charges. According to a press statement, the party is “concerned that these MPs visited a country which is actively engaged in a genocide and systematic apartheid policies against the Palestinians people.” The statement further asserts, “Their actions represent not just a derelict of duty, but a clear alignment with a regime that continues to oppress and dispossess. Their visit was an activity of apartheid and a crime against humanity.”
The provided charge sheet elaborates that the MPs are accused of contravening the Rome Statute, which South Africa ratified and incorporated into domestic law via the Implementation of the Rome Statute International Criminal Court Act 27 of 2002. This statute defines apartheid as a crime against humanity. Al Jama-ah’s legal argument, as outlined in the charge sheet, is that the MPs, by allegedly stating there was “no evidence of apartheid in Israel” after their visit, are misrepresenting the situation to the South African public and government. This conduct, the charge sheet claims, “itself amount to the crime of apartheid as it perpetuates the commission of the crime against humanity.”
The charge sheet specifically names the nine MPs:
1. Ms Glynnis Breytenbach (DA)
2. Ms Emma Louise Powell (DA)
3. Ms Katherine Alexandra Christie (DA)
4. Ms Bridget Staff Masango (DA)
5. Mr Liam Chad Jacobs (DA)
6. Mr Bonginkosi Success Madokizela (DA)
7. Mr Ashley Sauls (PA)
8. Ms Millicent Lerato-Mathopa (PA)
9. Mr Steven Nicholas Swart (ACDP)
The political parties whose members participated in the visit have responded differently. The ACDP issued a statement in support of Steve Swart’s trip and refuted “the false narrative that Israel is an apartheid country.” Conversely, DA spokesperson Willie Aucamp stated the trip was “arranged and attended by individuals in their private capacity and not through the party.” DA MP Emma Powell later reiterated this stance, stating that it was a private trip and she had no comment on her observations, following an incident where she was confronted by protestors at an event. The controversy over the MPs’ visit and their reported views on the apartheid question has now culminated in Al Jama-ah pursuing these criminal charges.
Members of the multi-party South African delegation to Israel meet with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog. Credit: South African Friends of Israel
