Julius Malema EFF

Julius Malema / Image via Twitter: Economic Freedom Fighters
@EFFSouthAfrica

Watch: Malema thrills KZN crowd with “kiss the boer” chant [video]

Malema put his own spin on infamous apartheid-era struggle song, ‘Aw Dubul’ibhunu’, better known as ‘Shoot the Boer’.

Julius Malema EFF

Julius Malema / Image via Twitter: Economic Freedom Fighters
@EFFSouthAfrica

Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), kicked off his election campaign in KwaZulu-Natal with a bang.

KwaZulu-Natal has been a historically treacherous battleground for the EFF. The area, a stronghold of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), rebuffed the Red Berets’ efforts in 2014, awarding Malema and his band of revolutionaries a paltry 1.85% of the provincial vote.

Julius Malema and Dubul’ibhunu

Contention in the province has, however, only sought to embolden Malema’s efforts in the run-up to the 2019 general elections. With the campaign trail heating up for all major political parties, Malema entered the lion’s den, hoping to woo disenfranchised voters.

In the rural settlement of eNseleni, north of Richards Bay, Malema whipped a crowd of supporters into a frenzy, when he put his own spin on infamous apartheid-era struggle song, Dubul’ibhunu’, translated as ‘Shoot the Boer’. Under legal duress, Malema altered the contentious chorus to reflect a more ‘light-hearted’ rhetoric.

Through the years, Malema has, on numerous occasions, landed himself in hot water for his racially charged utterances. In the last decade, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has ruled, on more than one occasion, that the enigmatic EFF leader violated the Constitution of South Africa by singing Dubul’ibhunu’ – a song now deemed as hate speech. The war cry “shoot the boer – the farmer” is considered, legally, to incite violence. As such, Malema has had to get creative.

Watch: Malema tells crowd to ‘kiss the boer’

Not willing to abandon his revolutionary rhetoric, which involves espousing radical calls for land grabs, Malema has discovered, and exploited, a legal loophole which allows him to sing Dubul’ibhunu’ to his heart’s content.

On Monday morning, Malema, once again, broke out into song, with the crowd gathered at kwaTsheka Sports Ground, joining him in unison. While dancing on stage, Malema sang:

“Shoot to kill. Kiss the boer – the farmer.”