Julius Malema singing “Kill the Boer, the Farmer” slated

EFF leader Julius Malema again sang the controversial song, “Kill the Boer, the Farmer”, while addressing a crowd after his pre-sentencing hearing in East London.

This has drawn sharp criticism from many quarters, slating his continued use of inflammatory rhetoric.

Malema is facing serious charges for firing an assault rifle into the air while on stage during the EFF’s fifth-anniversary celebrations on 28 July 2018.

The EFF birthday celebrations were held at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane, near East London.

After a lengthy trial, Magistrate Twanet Olivier found Malema guilty of numerous charges under the Firearms Control Act.

These include Unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and discharging a firearm in a built-up area or public place.

Olivier also found him guilty of reckless endangerment to person or property and failure to take reasonable precautions to avoid danger to person or property.

The matter returned to the East London Magistrate’s Court on 23 January 2026 for pre-sentencing hearings.

The courtroom faced capacity challenges because of the large number of EFF supporters who showed up. As a result, proceedings were moved to a bigger courtroom to accommodate more people.

The hearing itself proceeded, including cross-examination of a social worker on a pre-sentencing report and arguments on mitigation/aggravation.

It was postponed, primarily to allow time for final heads of argument from both the defense and prosecution.

Malema will return to the East London Magistrate’s Court for final arguments and sentencing on 15 April 2026.

His legal team, relying partly on a social worker’s report, argued that he was a suitable candidate for a non-custodial sentence.

Simply put, they asked the magistrate for a fine or suspended sentence, arguing he had no intent to harm anyone and was merely acting celebratorily.

The state is pushing for a harsher penalty, including direct imprisonment, citing Malema’s status as a public figure and his lack of remorse.

Julius Malema again sings “Kill the Boer, the Farmer”

While addressing a crowd filled with EFF supporters after the pre-sentencing hearing in East London, Malema sang the controversial song, “Kill the Boer, the Farmer”.

“Shoot to kill, nyamazane. Prrrr Pah. Pah. Prrrr Pah. Pah. Kill the Boer, the Farmer. I repeat. Kill the Boer, the Farmer,” he sang.

The song “Kill the Boer” has been a recurring subject of legal and political debate in South Africa and is seen as divisive and even as incitement to violence by some.

In 2011, Judge Colin Lamont, sitting in the South Gauteng High Court’s Equality Court, ruled it was hate speech that incited violence.

After appeals and negotiations between the ANC, Malema, and Afriforum, the parties reached a mediation agreement.

In August 2022, the Equality Court ruled that the chant was not hate speech but rather political expression protected by freedom of speech when read in context.

Afriforum’s attempts to overturn the decisions were rejected by the Supreme Court of Appeal and, in March 2025, the Constitutional Court.

This effectively confirmed the lower courts’ findings that the “Kill the Boer” chant does not legally constitute hate speech.

During a meeting at the White House in May 2025, US President Donald Trump confronted President Cyril Ramaphosa about the song.

Trump showed Ramaphosa video montages of Julius Malema leading thousands of supporters in the “Kill the Boer” chant.

Ramaphosa said the EFF is an opposition party and that Malema’s rhetoric does not represent the South African government or its people.

He explained that South Africa is a constitutional democracy with protected freedom of speech, and that the courts decide what constitutes hate speech.

Pushback against Malema signing “Kill the Boer”

Over the last week, Malema singing “Kill the Boer, the Farmer” once again drew sharp criticism from many high-profile individuals.

South-African-born billionaire and Tesla chief executive, Elon Musk, called Malema’s singing of the song ‘chanting for genocide’.

He also retweeted a comment, “South African Julius Malema leads another rally calling for his supporters to murder White South Africans.”

He further supported a comment that the situation would have been very different if the race roles were reversed.

“If this were a stadium of white people cheering and calling for the violent extermination of black people, it would be met with international condemnation,” the comment said.

Last year, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said “Kill the Boer” is a chant that incites violence.

“South Africa’s leaders and politicians must take action to protect Afrikaner and other disfavored minorities,” he said.

Malema dismissed Musk’s comments, as he has done numerous times in the past.