INFLAMMATORY SLOGAN
DA to report Malema’s chant of ‘Kill the boer, kill the farmer’ to the UN
The DA and Freedom Front Plus are taking action against Julius Malema after the EFF leader, along with his supporters, chanted the controversial slogan ‘Kill the boer, kill the farmer’ at the party’s anniversary celebrations over the weekend.
DA leader John Steenhuisen believes the EFF leader, Julius Malema, was inciting violence by chanting the slogan “Kill the boer, kill the farmer” at the party’s 10th-anniversary rally at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg at the weekend.
The DA intends to lay charges against Malema with the United Nations Human Rights Council as well as Parliament’s ethics committee.
“We are filing charges against both Julius Malema and the ANC government at the United Nations Human Rights Council. The first element of the United Nations case will focus on Malema’s incitement of ethnic violence.
“The second element will focus on charging the ANC national government over its years of failure to take action against its one-time protégé, even as brutal farm murders continue to escalate in the wake of Malema’s demagoguery,” he said.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Malema celebrates EFF’s 10th anniversary with lots of promises and a vow to unseat the ANC in 2024
Speaking on Monday, Steenhuisen said that by chanting ‘Kill the boer, kill the farmer’, Malema resurrected the demon of hatred, division and ethnic violence in SA.
“From that stage in Soweto, Malema told thousands of his followers that they must ‘shoot to kill’. He instructed them further to ‘kill the boer, kill the farmer’. Then he mimicked the chilling sound of machine-gun fire to members of his political cult who answered with thunderous approval.
“Julius Malema told us exactly who he is and it is time we believe him. For far too long the government, media, civil society and constitutional institutions have refused to acknowledge Malema for the bloodthirsty tyrant and demagogue that he really is. They have brushed off the threat that he is to our constitutional democracy. These people help to normalise Malema’s hatred and racism,” Steenhuisen said.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Julius Malema and his Extraordinary, Fanatical Followers, a decade later
He believes that Malema is in contravention of three United Nations charters: the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic Religious Linguistic Minorities, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“A political leader that incites mass murder is not normal and an MP who calls for the killing of an entire section of society is not normal and cowardly politicians who turn a blind eye to the incitement of civil war are not normal. The DA will not turn away; we will confront Julius Malema’s fascism head-on.
“The DA recently forced the SA government to live up to its international responsibility to comply with warrants issued by the ICC [International Criminal Court]. We will now do the same, to force it to act against Malema. In addition to this, we will also file a complaint with Parliament’s Ethics Committee against Malema in his capacity as an MP. We are further obtaining legal advice about approaching the Public Protector as well as the courts,” Steenhuisen said.
Malema is scheduled to hold a press briefing on Tuesday where is expected to respond to Steenhuisen’s announcement.
Meanwhile, Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald on Monday opened a case against Malema with the police and laid a complaint with the SA Human Rights Commission.
“The time has come for action to be taken against the EFF leader, Julius Malema, regarding his inflammatory statements and the FF Plus has today renewed a complaint about this to the police and the Human Rights Commission,” said the Freedom Front Plus.
The uproar comes despite the song “Kill the boer, kill the farmer” being found not to be hate speech, according to an Equality Court ruling. The ruling, made in August 2022 by Judge Edwin Molahlehi, said the song articulates the failure of the current government to address issues of economic empowerment and land division.
Minority rights group AfriForum took the EFF to court after EFF members chanted the slogan outside the Magistrates’ Court in Senekal in October 2020 where those accused of murdering farm manager Brendin Horner were appearing.
Crime Intelligence second-in-command faces backlash
The EFF’s 10th-anniversary celebrations have also led to a row over Major-General Feroz Khan’s presence at the party’s gala dinner last Thursday.
The Red Berets held their fundraising gala dinner at Emperors Palace, Boksburg, where Khan was among several high-profile guests.
The Freedom Front Plus said it was “extremely alarming” that the South African Police Service general, who is second-in-command of Crime Intelligence, attended the dinner.
Khan was sitting at a table alongside an EFF funder, the tobacco tycoon and cigarette smuggler Adriano Mazzotti.
“The actions of Major-General Feroz Khan are disgraceful and a slap in the face to all South Africans who are heavily burdened with crime and widespread corruption. It also raises questions about how serious the police force is about combating farm murders.
“Khan’s attendance also clearly demonstrates his close ties with the EFF. In addition to the message it sends to all South Africans about crime, it is also contemptuous and callous towards victims of crime. His fraternising with Mazzotti reinforces suspicions that Crime Intelligence is corrupt and may even be part of crime syndicates.
“He is also openly making his political preferences known, which is inappropriate for senior police officials. It could contribute to investigations into the EFF being foiled. The minister must implement a code of conduct prohibiting such behaviour,” the party said.
While there is no law which prohibits Khan from attending political party events, Public Interest South Africa (Pisa) has a gripe with Khan’s association with the EFF.
“While there may not be apparent legal violations by Major-General Khan, Public Interest SA urgently requests national police commissioner [Fannie] Masemola to initiate an internal investigation into Khan’s actions and proximity to those in the crosshairs of the criminal justice system.
“We find the political fraternisation of Khan, the second-in-command of Crime Intelligence at the SAPS, with confessed criminals and political leaders currently under scrutiny by the criminal justice system, to be undesirable, shameful, offensive to, and [a] slap [in] the face of South Africans who are grappling with widespread crime,” Pisa chairperson Tebogo Khaas said in a statement. DM
I find articles about this topic so depressing.
It is manifestly obvious that what Malema is using hate speech to further a destructive political agenda that feeds on ignorance and desperation.
It is also overtly obvious that if white people sang “kill the (well pretty much anything racial/cultural)” they would be pilloried.
And yet. And yet.
And yet I know that the government will do nothing, either because they are also racist, or because they are scared.
It makes little difference which, the outcome will be zero.
There is no true equality before the law in our country.
“Racism is a belief system or ideology that attributes certain characteristics, abilities, or values to individuals based on their race or ethnicity. It involves discrimination, prejudice, and unequal treatment towards people of different racial backgrounds, often leading to negative impacts on their lives and opportunities. Racism is considered a harmful and unjust practice that perpetuates inequality and division within societies.”
For “fun”, the above is ChatGPT’s answer to my request “define racism”
To all those who apparently believe otherwise, it is manifestly clear that it does NOT end with ” unless you are Julius Malema, in which case you’re fine no matter what disgusting statements you make or disgusting songs you sing”, NOR does it end with “unless you’re previously disadvantaged, in which case it’s fine whatever you do”
It’s time to start looking at ourselves honestly people and do things that are good for our country.
I wonder what would happen to me if I chanted similar slogans. ” Kill the farmer, kill the….” Insert what ever descriptor you like.
If a woman can be incarcerated for calling people who litter monkeys then surely some one calling on a crowd to “kill the farmer”, never mind adding “kill the boer” is inciting violence. That is was a slogan of freedom fighters many years ago does not mean it can be allowed to be chanted today!
A farmer was murdered and his wife beaten in an attack in Mpumalanga.
The four alleged attackers later crashed the car they had stolen and were apprehended in the Free State.
The farmer’s wife was able to identify two of them before losing consciousness.