23/05/2025
Will President Donald J. Trump go after Malema and Zuma?
South Africa's Institute of Race Relations (IRR) says ‘Kill the Boer’ chant created problems for South Africa.
Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen and billionaire Johann Rupert told President Trump that Malema and Zuma threaten South Africa's development.
Terence Corrigan, a project manager at the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), says that while the chanting of the “Kill the Boer” song is not illegal in South Africa, it has created a bad impression overseas.
This comes after videos of the EFF leader chanting the controversial song were played during a critical meeting between US President Donald Trump and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Trump expressed concern with the chanting of “kill the boer” and the alleged hate speech being spread by Malema in parliament.
Speaking to The Citizen on Thursday, Corrigan said that while he did not believe that the song should be completely banned, it has created a public relations (PR) problem for South Africa.
“This has been a major image problem for South Africa for nearly 20 years. This chant was started by Peter Mokaba but revived by Julius Malema while he was leading the ANC Youth League.
Corrigan told an international audience that visuals of Malema chanting “kill the boer” in a packed stadium are perceived as alarming.
“If I were an American watching that on the evening news, and I had never been to South Africa, I did not know people from South Africa, and I had probably heard about the crime problem, I would think that the country was in deep trouble.
“The use of military regalia by political parties, shooting guns in the air, all of that gives an impression of boiling hatred in a society full of violence. You cannot push the envelope,” he said.
Was Ramaphosa supposed to explain the history of the chant?
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