Clip of Julius Malema's Reaction to 'Kill the Boer' Song in Court Floors SA: "We Are Led"
- EFF leader Julius Malema was in the Equality Court on Wednesday for cross-examination in his party's hate speech matter
- Malema was made to listen to an excerpt of the controversial "Shoot the Boer" song, and his response to it was not what was expected
- South Africans flooded the timeline to react to Malema and his apparent nonchalance and, at times, defiant attitude in court
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The hate speech case brought against the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) by civil rights group AfriForum continued in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Julius Malema, who was on the stand to testify in defence of his party over the "Dubul'ibhunu" struggle song, stated that AfriForum was creating unnecessary panic among white South Africans.
Source: Getty Images
Malema reiterated there was no conscious plan to kill farmers or white people. Instead, the politician highlighted that the country was already facing rampant crime, including murder.
Briefly News previously reported that AfriForum wants the Equality Court to instruct EFF leaders to apologise, declare the song as hate speech and for the party to pay R500 000 in punitive damages.
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'I thought it's English'
While on the stand during cross-examination by the prosecution, Malema was asked to listen to an excerpt of the song. In a short video of the portion of the audio excerpt being played back as Malema listened – shared by @mmodiba10Honestly on Twitter – the group singing seemed to have altered the original lyrics of the song.
The caption read:
"Honestly, I'm defeated."
Instead of the infamous phrase, "Shoot the Boer", they could be heard singing, "Kiss the Boer, kiss the farmer". At the end of the audio, before the prosecutor could continue leading the cross-examination, Malema threw up his challenge.
"You also want me to interpret the language you hear?" he said.
The prosecutor prompted the politician to go ahead so that the court was clear. Malema then repeated the lyrics verbatim, adding:
"I thought it's English?"
A short back and forth ensued between Malema and the lead prosecutor, ending with the former comically mimicking blowing a kiss after he was asked what the literal action behind "Kiss the Boer" suggested.
Laughter could be heard breaking out in court after Malema's demonstration. The clip was viewed more than 30 000 times and attracted close to 2 000 likes and 700 retweets at the time of publishing this story.
However, on social media, users were again on different sides of the fence over the politician's "I don't care" attitude. Some people called him out for dumbing down the seriousness of the matter, while others opted to see the funny side.
Locals have a laugh
Briefly News takes a look at some of the reactions to the material below.
@ochiengpin wrote:
"I don't know who Malema's lawyers are but they are either compromised or completely useless. He has no business answering these questions. The judge is also complicit here."
@K_KGETHO said:
"This man will paralyze in your own backyard! Thank you AfriForum for the invitation, allowing us to campaign and articulate our policies!"
@DSG1082 added:
"I thought I can't admire him more after JSC (CJ) interviews. But today I found a higher level of admiration."
Bheki Cele insists Malema, Sitole wanted him axed
Elsewhere, Briefly News recently reported that Police Minister Bheki Cele has spoken out against an alleged plan to have him removed from his position. He made the revelations during the first leg of the 2022 SONA debate in Cape Town on Monday.
Taking to the podium, Cele, who has been under the pump from ordinary citizens for some time, pointed an accusing finger at Malema and national police commissioner Khehla Sitole for attempting to hatch a plot to see him vacate from his role.
Several opposition speakers, including Malema, found it glaring that Cele was still the Police Minister following the conclusions of the report into the July unrest and the picture it paints against him.
Source: Briefly News
