LISTEN | Struggle songs are not instruction to attack, says Malema on hate crime case

Struggle songs are not meant as literal engagement and are not intended to incite violence, EFF leader Julius Malema told the Equality Court on Thursday.

He was giving testimony in the case brought against him by the lobby group AfriForum for allegedly singing Dubul’ ibhunu (translated as “Shoot the Boer” or “Kill the Boer”).

The lobby group wants Malema, the party and MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi to apologise and pay damages.

“As a younger generation in the struggle, we sing the songs those who came before us sang to put ourselves in the position they were in before. I would respect the court, but the court would have declared that our struggle was hate because we sing the songs that were sung by those who came before us.

“Our songs are not in any way meant to engage in any literal engagement. They are songs for that purpose of the revolution, not to attack anyone,” said Malema.

He added that from the times of Shaka Zulu, “I have never heard that black people were given instruction to attack through song.”  

“We don’t give a command through singing. When it is time to give a command, we will give that command. I am still to wait for an example where the masses of our people were given an instruction through song to go and attack. And to say people are being killed because of an EFF song, as if this is in the founding manifesto of the EFF, is bizarre.”

Malema said to say apartheid ended 28 years ago “is a sign of being insensitive and racist because [economic] apartheid did not end in 1994”.    

“Singing will never be confused for command. They were not haters, they were liberators, and their songs still have a place today.”

On Wednesday he denied singing the song. “You have the wrong man. Even in the videos they have presented, not a single video shows me singing ‘Kill the Boer’.”

He had no idea where the song originated.

“I was taught the song when I was young. I joined the struggle when I was nine years old. We understood through political education what the song meant. They made us understand it was important not to take the song in its literal meaning.”

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