Pastor Mark Burns said Malema singing the song is “hurting my white brothers and sister” in SA.
An American pastor who is a fierce ally and supporter of US President Donald Trump believes the EFF and its leader Julius Malema should not be taken seriously and are attention-seekers for chanting the “divisive” “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer”.
Pastor Burns has defended his stance that there is no white genocide being perpetrated against white Afrikaners in South Africa
After recently visiting South Africa and speaking to white farmers, Burns said he does not believe there is a genocide being perpetrated against White Afrikaners in the country, adding everyone he talked to was “extremely shocked to discover that this was the narrative being played out in Washington, DC.”
Ambush
Last month, Trump ambushed President Cyril Ramaphosa by playing a video of Malema’s speech to support his claims of an alleged white genocide against farmers. He also questioned why the EFF leader had not been arrested.
WATCH Pastor Mark Burns speaking about Malema
ALSO READ: ‘There is no white genocide happening here,’ says Trump’s top pastor after SA visit
Meeting Malema
Burns said he believes “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer” is a chant “designed to pull people apart and not biblical”.
“The fact that we’re talking about him [Malema] is not even good because, you know, that’s spewing hate. Unless he wants to come and apologise and say, ‘you know what, pastor, you’re right, me singing that song is hurting my white brothers and sisters here in my beautiful nation, even though it is important, and it has historical evidence.’
“Yes, Mandela, whom President Trump spoke highly of, has great respect for him, and he spoke about him twice, did sing that song. Even your Constitutional [Court], I think, voted that it was his [Malema’s] legal right to sing the song, it’s still causing division in our nation, on a nation that is still pretty new from apartheid,” Burn said.
Burns dismissed the EFF leader as “just a character who is screaming, trying to garner attention for himself”.
ALSO READ: ‘There is doubt in Trump’s head about genocide in SA,’ Ramaphosa says [VIDEO]
‘Kill the Boer, kill the farmer’
In March, AfriForum suffered a final blow in its attempt to have the controversial chant “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer” declared as hate speech.
The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) delivered a brief ruling dismissing AfriForum’s application for leave to appeal.
Malema said he would never be intimidated by Trump.
“Well, I’m not fearful. As a revolutionary, part of being killed is one of those honours you must wear with pride, but I’m not going to be reckless.
“I will never stop singing a song that Winnie Mandela sang. That would be a betrayal to the struggle of our people”.
‘False propaganda’
Burns said he has been accused of spreading ‘false propaganda” about no white genocide taking place in South Africa.
“To those accusing me of spreading false propaganda because I don’t believe there is a white genocide happening among South African farmers, I say this: go speak to the White Afrikaans farmers and former apartheid leaders I met with.
“Some of them are strongly anti-ANC, yet they still shared serious concerns about safety in their communities. If that is considered false propaganda, then they are being accused of spreading it about their own people, which doesn’t make sense,” Burns said.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Donald Trump ambushes Cyril Ramaphosa in Oval Office
Killing of white people
Burns added that he is not denying that some white individuals may have been killed because of their race.
“But based on what I saw and what was shared with me, far more black South Africans are being killed by the same criminal elements that are thriving in a weak and struggling economy.
“Let’s be clear. There is only one South Africa. The days of racial division under the apartheid government are over. South Africa is the Rainbow Nation, built on unity, diversity, and hope.
“White Afrikaans, Black Africans, and all others are South Africans together. The future of the country depends on people standing together, not apart,” Burns said.
Who is Burns?
Burns is the minister of Harvest Worship Centre in South Carolina and a Republican who ran for state governor. He served as a board member of pastors for Trump.
An early supporter of Trump in 2016, Time magazine named Burns one of the US president’s top advisors.
ALSO READ: Piers Morgan slams Ramaphosa for defending ‘Kill the Boer’ chant [VIDEO]
