Lex Libertas has rejected proposals by senior African National Congress (ANC) figures to prosecute South Africans and consider stripping citizenship from people who raise concerns about the country with foreign governments.

The dispute follows several weeks of increased South African political activity in Washington. In late September, Lex Libertas held its White Cross Project in Washington, DC, where 3 000 white crosses were displayed on the National Mall in remembrance of people murdered in farm attacks.

The organisation also presented a report dealing with political incitement, farm attacks, race-based legislation, and property rights, and met American policymakers as part of its campaign.

Attention then shifted back to South Africa this week when Parliament’s International Relations Committee chairperson Supra Mahumapelo criticised organisations lobbying in Washington. Mahumapelo specifically named Lex Libertas and several other groups and suggested that their activities could amount to treason.

According to Lex Libertas, Mahumapelo also called for legislation that could allow South Africans involved in such activity to be stripped of their citizenship. Other senior ANC representatives suggested that those involved should be prosecuted.

International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola subsequently backed the broader call for a government clampdown. He said the executive would investigate measures against people who spread what he described as “misinformation” about South Africa internationally. Lamola did not specify whether he supported prosecution or the removal of citizenship.

Lex Libertas responded on Wednesday, rejecting the proposals and saying the government should identify and correct any claims it believes are false rather than threaten those making them.

“If somebody spreads false information, the answer is straightforward: identify the false statement, present the evidence and correct the record,” Lex Libertas executive director Ernst Roets said.

Roets said the government had not shown which claims made by Lex Libertas were false.

The organisation also pointed to constitutional protections for freedom of expression and citizenship. Section 16 of the Constitution protects the freedom to receive and impart information and ideas, while Section 20 states that no citizen may be deprived of citizenship.

Rather than scaling back its activities, Lex Libertas said the controversy would cause it to expand its international campaign.

“Lex Libertas will therefore intensify its international advocacy,” Roets said.

The organisation said it would continue meeting foreign governments, policy groups, media organisations, and civil society organisations, while also telling international audiences about the calls for prosecution and citizenship measures against South Africans who criticise government policy abroad.

No legislation providing for prosecution or the loss of citizenship over such lobbying has yet been introduced. For now, the dispute centres on proposals from senior ANC figures to punish some South Africans for their activities abroad and Lex Libertas’s declaration that it intends to continue its international campaign.