Leaders of the Freedom Front Plus have opened a case of intimidation against EFF leader Julius Malema for chanting “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” during the red berets' 10th-anniversary celebrations in Joburg at the weekend.
Malema has been condemned widely, mainly by prominent white South Africans, including one of the wealthiest people in the world, Elon Musk, who said Malema was calling for “white genocide” in South Africa.
There is no white genocide in South Africa.
FF+ leader Dr Pieter Groenewald said they opened a case against Malema as it was “time to take action against EFF leader Julius Malema for his inflammatory statements”.
The Equality Court ruled in August last year, that there was a place for Struggle songs in the politically contested arena and that singing of such songs was tantamount to freedom of speech. They ruled that the song “Kill the Boer, Kiss the Boer”, was not hate speech.
The Equality Court also held that a previous ruling from 2010 about the Dubul’ iBhunu song, which had gone against Malema at the time, was not binding as the “hurt” test it relied on to find Malema guilty, had since been declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in the case of Qwelane vs SA Human Rights Commission.
The ConCourt made the order in July 2021.
Die tyd het aangebreek dat daar opgetree word teen die EFF-leier, Julius Malema, oor sy opruiende uitsprake en die VF Plus het vandag opnuut ʼn klag hieroor by die polisie en die menseregtekommissie (MRK) ingedien. @GroenewaldPJ pic.twitter.com/SyngyVqhKd
— VRYHEIDSFRONT PLUS / FREEDOM FRONT PLUS (@VFPlus) July 31, 2023
Groenewald said Malema’s singing of the song, which included chants such as “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” and “shoot to kill”, was an incitement to commit violence against farmers.
“The HRC found as far back as 2000, after a complaint lodged by the FF Plus, that the song ‘Kill the Boer’ amounts to hate speech, but thus far, the EFF leader’s statements have gone unpunished.
“His re-iteration of it in the FNB Stadium (on Sunday) with the celebration of the EFF’s tenth anniversary simply highlights his contempt for the law and the HRC,” said Groenewald.
The FF+ said the HRC hesitated to take action against Malema despite taking stringent action against other people guilty of hate speech.
He said they were convinced “that inflammatory statements and songs do indeed incite people to violence and murder”.
“There is also no doubt that the “Boer” referred to in the song is aimed at white people.
“In addition, a 2003 police report found that inflammatory statements by politicians incite people to violence and that it is one of the main causes of farm attacks and murders,” said Groenewald.
He said the chanting of “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” could not continue to be justified or permitted under the guise of freedom of speech as the Constitution stipulates that incitement to violence is not protected under the right to freedom of expression.
Meanwhile, the DA leader John Steenhuisen said the party would file charges against the EFF and Malema at the United Nations Human Rights Council for chanting the song.
The DA said it would also charge the ANC-led government before the UN over its “years-long failure to take action against their one-time protégé”, even as brutal farm murders continue to escalate in South Africa.
Malema is expected to address media members from the EFF’s Winnie Madikizela-Mandela House headquarters in Joburg at 12 pm on Wednesday.
Editor’s note: IOL would like to extend an unreserved apology to FF+ leader Dr Pieter Groenewald. In a case of mistaken identity, an earlier version of this story unwittingly confused the FF+ leader with Pieter “Tienie” Groenewald, who was an apartheid military chief with the now defunct SA Defence Force. The error is regretted.
IOL