The South African NGO AfriForum has lost a lawsuit alleging that the song "Kill the Boer" incites hate and violence against the white population. The case was seen in the country’s Equality Court, which was created to review cases of alleged discrimination.
The song, which dates back to the days of apartheid, is filled with calls to "shoot the Boer” – a colloquial nickname for the South African Police or privileged white landowners at the time. Its critics believe that it incites violence against the wider white population, claiming that non-black farmers started suffering from violent and sometimes deadly attacks because of it.
However, Equality Court's Judge Edwin Molahlehi ruled against the claimants and in favor of the song’s proponents, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Party, whose leader Julius Malema was once convicted for singing it. The song’s defenders insist that its lyrics should not be interpreted literally and that it symbolizes the fight against oppressive Apartheid-era authorities.
Judge Molahlehi said that AfriForum failed to present enough evidence to prove that the song's lyrics have incited violence. He also dismissed testimony from their expert, Ernst Roets, as he works in AfriForum's legal team.
"The song does not constitute hate speech, but rather deserves to be protected under the rubric of freedom of speech. I find that AfriForum has failed to make out a case that the lyrics in the song constitute hate speech," the judge ruled.
EFF praised the court's decision as being "sober", with the party's Treasurer-General Omphile Maotwe accusing AfriForum of trying to erase "the cultural element of the liberation struggle." EFF members celebrated their victory by singing the freshly-defended song in court.
"The court reaffirmed the submission […], that liberation songs should not be interpreted literally, but recognised as a critique of a system of oppression," Maotwe said.
AfriForum, in turn, vowed to appeal the ruling and slammed the court's decision for creating "a very dangerous precedent". The group stressed that the ruling sends a "disturbing message" that "encouraging the gruesome murder" of a group of people based on their identity is not punishable in South Africa.
"Today's ruling proved how the political order in South Africa is becoming radicalized, especially against minorities," AfriForum stated.