Former president Thabo Mbeki defends ‘kill the Boer’ song as a mere ‘chant’

Former president Thabo Mbeki has defended the controversial “kill the Boer” song, saying it’s a struggle song and not meant to be taken literally.

The song, which originated during the apartheid era as a liberation song, has resurfaced with the EFF singing it at their rallies. The song has sparked controversy with white Afrikaner groups interpreting it as promoting violence against them.

“It was a chant during the days of struggle,” Mbeki said in an interview with SABC News.

“Chants of that kind in our tradition, in the African tradition, you don’t take them literally.”

He drew parallels with another song, “Ngeke ngiye kwaZulu, kwa feli umama,” which translates to “I won’t go to Zululand because my mother died there”, emphasising that such songs are not meant to be taken at face value. “You don’t mean that,” he said.

Mbeki said the ANC policy has always been against the killing of civilians, and there’s no evidence to suggest that uMkhonto we Sizwe soldiers were instructed to kill farmers.

“There’s no uMkhonto we Sizwe soldier who went and killed a farmer. It’s a chant to motivate people. It was never taken literally. Even during the course of the struggle, it was not literal. It’s an exaggeration to take this as an instruction to go and kill. The people who are exaggerating know that they are exaggerating because they are trying to achieve some political purpose.”

The song's controversy resurfaced recently when US President Donald Trump called for EFF leader Julius Malema’s arrest, saying the song incites violence.

During a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa, Trump played a video of Malema singing the song and presented articles on farm murders to support his narrative that white farmers are being persecuted in South Africa.

“It’s puzzling to me that you’ve got a president who believes absolute lies,” Mbeki said. 

However, he emphasised the importance of mending ties with the US.

“We have a task to make sure that we get the people of the US on our side.”

Earlier this year, the Constitutional Court dismissed a bid by AfriForum to have the song declared hate speech. 

The court denied AfriForum leave to appeal against the 2022 Equality Court ruling which found the song does not constitute hate speech and is protected under freedom of expression. 

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