Prof Lesiba Teffo said Julius Malema should be sensitive to the political environment.
Image: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers
Political analyst, Professor Lesiba Teffo has criticised the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and its leader Julius Malema for perpetuating the anti-apartheid chant "Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer" at the commemoration of the Sharpeville Massacre last week.
IOL reported on Tuesday that tension between South Africa and the United States continues to spiral after US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio lambasted the EFF for singing the "Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer" song.
Rubio, taking to social media on Monday said Afrikaners who are threatened with violence would be welcomed in the US.
Speaking to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika regarding the controversial song and chants, Teffo said for the sake of nation building, reconciliation and social cohesion, Malema should avoid the "Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer" song.
“I think as a leader, he should be sensitive and responsive to the call on the ground. We want to co-fashion a society where black and white (people) can live together,” he said.
The academic stated that the argument for a nostalgic attachment to the song does not hold water as majority of people singing the song are young.
“Incidentally, I lived and experienced apartheid. It is those that heard, read and got it mediated to them that tend to want to give us lectures. We are not the first to be colonised under the sun, but many nations have moved on, even the so-called Asian tiger.
“Can we not be beholden to the past? Be mindful of it but look at where we are. People want bread, pap and vleis, safety and security, jobs and anything that is inimical to these … I am sure people will say you cannot be our leader. One way or another, that message was conveyed in May 2024,” said Teffo.
US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
Image: Mark Schiefelbein / POOL / AFP
Rubio's outcry comes after EFF leader, Julius Malema chanted the contentious "Kill the Boer" song on Human Right Day to mark the Sharpeville Massacre on Friday, amid escalating hostilities between the US and South Africa, particularly over South Africa’s land expropriation policies and attitude towards Israel.
Rubio made mention of the contentious struggle song, "Kill the Boer," in a post on X on Monday. Critics claim that this song has been exploited as a call to action for anti-white violence, specifically directed at white farmers.
In 2022, the South African Equality Court has ruled against AfriForum for its assertion that the words “kill the boer – kill the farmer” constituted hate speech.
Last year, AfriForum said it will be discussing the possibility of approaching the Constitutional Court, following a ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal where the SCA dismissed AfriForum's appeal against the EFF regarding the singing of “Kill the Boer”.
The SCA ruled that the song was not hate speech.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
IOL
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