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Malema criticises Presidents Donald Trump and Cyril Ramaphosa: ‘He will never do that nonsense in my presence’
Just days after US President Donald Trump requested President Cyril Ramaphosa to arrest Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema for singing the controversial “Kill the Boer” chant, Malema once again led the song on Sunday and promised to continue with it.
“I’m not going to be silenced by the threat of violence. I’m not going to be silenced by the threat of death,” he said.
Malema made the remarks at the Mminara Sports Ground in Kwakwatsi, Free State, on Sunday ahead of the local by-elections this week.
“When you say ‘don’t tell him,’ Ramaphosa should have said: ‘In South Africa, we don’t tell people that.’ There are codes in South Africa, and the codes said there was nothing wrong with this song,” he said.
Malema said he did not own or compose the song, which was widely criticised for inciting violence.
“This is not my song. I didn’t compose this song. I found this song; The battle heroes composed this song. All I’m doing is defending the legacy of our struggle…,” he said.
He described the hymn as part of South Africa’s liberation heritage.
“This is the song sung by Peter Mokaba in the presence of Chris Hani, in the presence of Winnie Mandela,” Malema said.
“And that’s why I will never stop singing a song that Winnie Mandela sang before she died. That would be a betrayal of the struggle of our people.”
He warned that calls to stop the chant could be followed by demands to end discussions on land reform.
“Comrades, when they say stop singing ‘Kill the Boer, kill the Farmer!,’ they’re going to say to you: Stop claiming the land, because you’re insulting white people. Don’t talk about the land,” he said.
Trump made the call for Malema’s arrest during a recent meeting with Ramaphosa at the White House last Wednesday. Trump criticised Malema and the chant, citing it as evidence of targeted violence against white Afrikaner farmers.
His remarks were influenced by a video clip of Malema speaking in Parliament about land reform.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen, who attended the meeting, said his party had joined South Africa’s Government of National Unity (GNU) to prevent extremist parties, including the EFF and uMkhonto weSizwe, from gaining power.
Trump’s remarks have heightened tensions between Washington and Pretoria, particularly regarding South Africa’s land reform policy.
Trump described the policy as “confiscation of land” from white farmers, an allegation that the South African government has denied.
Malema, who was defiant of criticism, concluded his speech by singing the chant on stage with fans.
Meanwhile, former president Thabo Mbeki defended the controversial “Kill the Boer” chant – widely sung by Malema – saying it was a symbolic expression rooted in the anti-apartheid struggle and not a literal call to violence.
Mbeki said the hymn, which was used during the liberation struggle, was never meant to be taken literally and is still misunderstood by critics.
“This is unchanged. I mean, that thing is a hymn. It was a hymn during the days of the struggle,” Mbeki said in an interview with SABC News.
“Hymns of that nature in our tradition, in the African tradition, you don’t take them literally.”
Is it not our right, then, to sing The Voice of South Africa written by CJ Langenhoven?
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