POLL | Does banning the old SA flag really make a difference?

The banning of the old apartheid flag has become the centre of conversation, after the equality court's ruling that the gratuitous display of it constitutes hate speech.

The ruling was passed down on Wednesday when the court considered the matter brought by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the SA Human Rights Commission.

Judge President Phineas Mojapelo said that displaying the flag was both racist and discriminatory.

LISTEN | SA torn over banning of apartheid-era flag

“Those who display the old flag consciously and deliberately choose not to display the new democratic, all-uniting, nonracial flag. They choose oppression over liberating symbols. They intend to insult and awaken feelings of white supremacy,” he said.

After the news broke, many South Africans including the ANC and the EFF welcomed the ruling.

'Remove Die Stem'

EFF's spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said the ruling was grounds for all symbols that represented the pre-democracy SA, such as statues and the Die Stem version of the national anthem, to be done away with.

“In light of this ruling, we call on [President Cyril] Ramaphosa to remove Die Stem from our national anthem. Forcing black people to sing it is like asking them each day to salute the apartheid flag,” he said.

Positive step

ANC's spokesperson Pule Mabe said the judgment was a positive step towards the consolidation of a united SA.

“We believe that demonstrating any allegiance to apartheid symbols serves to undermine all efforts aimed at building a new democratic society that is based on the values of justice, equality and freedom,” said Mabe.

However, social media users had mixed reactions. Some expressed that the banning of the old flag "doesn't erase racial hatred”.

Controversial Afrikaans singer Steve Hofmeyr also suggested that banning the flag only makes it more powerful.

At the height of the ban application, Hofmeyr said the minute something is banned, “it acquires value”.