Human Rights Day ‘hypocrisy’: EFF leader Julius Malema has come under fire for once again chanting ‘Kill the Boer’ at a rally.
EFF leader Julius Malema finds himself once again at the centre of the provocative “Kill the Boer” controversy for his latest “stint” at his party’s Sharpeville Commemoration Rally at Dlomo Dam on Human Rights Day, observed annually on 21 March in South Africa.
In a video widely shared on social media platforms, Malema can be seen breaking into the Dubula ibhunu (Kill the Boer) struggle song, which has previously been widely criticised as “inciting violence” by the likes of South African-born billionaire and tech giant Elon Musk, AfriForum and the DA.
Last year, lobby group AfriForum was granted leave to appeal the Equality Court ruling in 2022 that “Kill the Boer” is not considered hate speech.
ALSO READ: Barbed wire and battle cries: AfriForum vs EFF’s ‘Kill the Boer’ chant back in court
Musk vs Malema: EFF leader’s Human Rights Day ‘Kill the Boer’ chant
In July 2023, Malema ended off his keynote address at the party’s 10th anniversary rally at Soweto’s FNB Stadium by chanting “Kill the Boer”, sparking a renewed wave of outrage.
At the time, Musk headed to his social media platform X to declare that the song promotes “white genocide”, while DA leader John Steenhuisen expressed the party’s intention to file charges against Malema with the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The saga has now reared its ugly head yet again — ironically on Human Rights Day — with the Red Berets’ onstage performance of the song.
ALSO READ: Red flag: DA plans to take EFF to UN Human Rights Council over ‘Kill the Boer’ rally chant
On Saturday, Musk headed to his @elonmusk X account, calling for greater awareness of the fact “that there is a major political party in South Africa that is actively promoting white genocide”.
The SpaceX CEO, who is also heading up US President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, touched again on South Africa’s Expropriation Act “legalizing taking property from white people at will with no payments”.
Malema’s song and dance ‘a disgrace’ — Roland Schoeman
Several South Africans, including prominent public figures such as Olympic swimming champion Roland Schoeman, weighed in on Malema’s Human Rights Day “Kill the Boer” chant.
Heading to X, the four-time Olympian and world record-holder who now lives in the US, expressed outrage at what he called the “hypocrisy” of celebrating the human rights of the South African nation as a whole while “inciting violence”.
“Julius Malema and the EFF’s obsession with ‘Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer’ on Human Rights Day is a disgrace. Nothing screams hypocrisy louder than celebrating ‘human rights’ while inciting violence against a group of people.”
ALSO READ: ‘It’s not my song’: Malema hits back at outrage ‘sponsored by Helen Zille’ over ‘Kill the Boer’
‘Kill the Boer’ a ‘deliberate political tool’
The 44-year-old Schoeman further argued that the chant is not just a historical struggle song, but a deliberate political tool used to sow division and racial hostility.
“Let’s be clear: This chant isn’t just an old struggle song, it’s a deliberate political tool used to stoke division and perpetuate racial hostility. While South Africa grapples with real issues—crime, corruption, economic collapse – Malema chooses to rally his followers around hatred, not solutions.”
On Sunday, the Olympic champion also took a swipe at the ANC, EFF and former president Jacob Zuma’s MK party, labelling them “a case study in contradiction”.
Renaldo Gouws
YouTuber and former politician Renaldo Gouws also criticised Malema’s singing of the song on Human Rights Day.
Gouws stepped away from the political arena as DA MP last year after a 2010 YouTube video in which he allegedly called for the “killing of black people” resurfaced online.
This resulted in the Eastern Cape division of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) taking Gouws to the Equality Court over allegations of hate speech.
Over the weekend, Gouws said on his YouTube channel that South Africans should not celebrate Human Rights Day, as it is clear that human rights do not apply to everyone.
He also posted on his X account the video of Malema and EFF party members singing the struggle song, captioning it:
“Happy Human Rights Day South Africa! Yes, this video was recorded today.”
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