Johannesburg - EFF leader Julius Malema is adamant that the singing of the “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” song or its revised version of “Kiss the Boer, Kiss the Farmer” has not led to the killing of white farmers in South Africa.
Malema made the assertion on Thursday while giving testimony for the second day at the Equality Court sitting at the South Gauteng High Court.
Lobby group AfriForum has alleged that Malema's continued singing of the song contributed to the growing number of farm murders in the country.
In this case, Malema was charged in his capacity as president of the EFF.
He was charged along with the party’s MP and former spokesperson, Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.
AfriForum wants the two leaders alongside their party to publicly apologise and pay an amount of R500 000 to a non-governmental organisation combating hatred.
AfriForum, through its legal counsel advocate Mark Oppenheimer, used case studies of farm killings, some of which transpired prior to the formation of the EFF in 2013, to justify its claim against Malema and his party.
One of the cases involved the murder of a 79-year-old woman and her daughter.
The two were brutally killed on the farm outside Welkom in the Free State on March 7, 2010.
Malema was also questioned about some of the farm murder incidents contained in the book titled “Kill The Boer: Government complicity in South Africa’s brutal farm murders” written by AfriForum’s head of policy Ernst Roets.
In one of the case studies, Roets alleges that the attackers used the blood of their victims to paint graffiti on their walls, which read: "Dubul’ibhunu (Shoot the Boer)" and "Viva Malema."
In cross-examining Malema, Oppenheimer emphasised that these incidents were enough proof that the singing of the song had prompted the killing of white farmers - a claim Malema vehemently denied.
“The book does not give proof that the suspects were arrested and convicted in a court of law on the basis that they were persuaded by the song to commit such a criminal act. I classify that killing as a criminal act,” Malema said.
There is no proof that the killers were members of the EFF, he said.
“What if it was another farmer who wanted to divert attention from the real culprit and recreate the murder scene as if it was committed by persons linked to the EFF?” Malema asked.
He also reiterated that the song pre-dates the EFF, saying: “It is a struggle song. It belongs to the struggle.”
Counsel for EFF advocate Mfesane Ka-Siboto used the platform to quiz Malema on the Afrikaans song "Die Stem", with Malema indicating that this particular song had traumatised people.
Ka-Siboto is expected to call an expert witness on Friday to corroborate Malema’s view that songs do not instigate violent crimes in African culture.
Political Bureau