Racial Tensions Flare in South Africa Over Newspaper Column

Johannesburg, South Africa— Hate speech or free speech?

A South African newspaper columnist was fired Tuesday for writing that an editor at another publication was a "black snake in the grass" working for white masters and probably would have been burned as punishment during the struggle against apartheid.

The editor of the City Press, Ferial Haffajee, published an article last week detailing alleged corruption by Julius Malema, the polarizing youth wing leader of the ruling African National Congress. The article alleges that Malema took bribes from businessmen in return for using his contacts to facilitate government contracts, and it raised questions about how he funds his extravagant lifestyle on a salary of a few thousand dollars a month.

In response, Eric Miyeni, a columnist at the Sowetan newspaper who has often championed Malema in his work, wrote a piece viewed by many as scathing and darkly threatening.