'Kill the Boer': Attacks on white farmers have increased in South Africa since Julius Malema's controversial rally

A month after the controversial rally where Julius Malema, leader of the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, sang the song known as "Kill the Boer," attacks on South African farmers have been increasing throughout the country. In August alone, there were 22 attacks on farms in South Africa and six farmers were killed. The figure doubles compared to the same month in 2022.

Data from the AfriForum association reported that there was a spike in violence in the month of August. The association represents the interests of Afrikaners and encourages their participation in South African society. One of its toughest battles is trying to protects farmers from attacks and discrimination. Last month they resumed litigation against Julius Malema and his political party for singing the song "Kill the Boer" to a stadium full of EFF supporters.

The song encourages people to shoot and kill the Boers, descendants of the white Central European settlers who founded South Africa centuries ago. Currently, the white ethnic group represents just over 7% of the population in South Africa. The number of people who work on small farms in the middle of the country is even smaller. Despite this, they are one of the targets of violence and crime in South Africa.

437 attacks on average, 95% of them unresolved

The AfriForum data shows that in 2022, there were 333 attacks on South African farmers. In the same year, 50 farmers were killed in these attacks. The problem is endemic and permanent. Between 2019 and 2021, AfriForum reported that there were at least 1,310 attacks on farms in South Africa resulting in 163 deaths. This is equivalent to a rate of 437 attacks per year and 54 deaths on average per year.

South African courts failed to get justice for the majority of victims. According to a report from this September, only 5% of the attacks that occurred between 2019 and 2022 were resolved in court, which is 66 of the 1,402 total attacks.

According to the same report, the criminal justice system completely failed victims in the provinces of Gauteng, Mpumalanga, North West and Northern Cape during this period of time. In these provinces, no one was ever found guilty of violence against Boers.

"Weak investigative work, ineffective prosecutions and a clear unwillingness of the government to tackle rural safety and farm attacks in particular are probably the reason for these shocking findings," the report's writers explained.

Hate speech

"Kill the Boer" incites hatred and violence. It has been declared unconstitutional in two convictions, despite the insistence of leftists who claim this historical song is an example of the fight against racial oppression in South Africa. Both AfriForum and the Democratic Alliance, the centrist party that leads the opposition, are once again confronting the EFF over the call for hatred and genocide against whites.

The attackers sang "Kill the Boer" while attacking farmers

In the month of August, South African media reported an attack on a farm in KwalaZulu-Natal province in which attackers imitated Malema and sang the song while raiding the property of Tim and Amanda Platt. According to AfriForum, four armed men entered the couple's farm on the morning of August 17. When the couple ran into them, the assailants attacked them. Amanda Platt was beaten several times with blunt weapons, in addition to being stabbed with a spear. She claimed the assailants were singing and shouting "Kill the Boer," the same song that Julius Malema sang on the tenth anniversary of his party in front of thousands of attendees. Amanda managed to escape from her attackers. She ran off to get a gun and came back armed to save her husband.

Jacques Broodryck, a spokesperson for AfriForum, told Voz Media, "We find ourselves in a situation where farmers are literally being murdered and tortured. So you can see how a party like the EFF, chanting 'Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer' to thousands of people, certainly doesn't help. We believe that this is incitement and that it undoubtedly influences the frequency of attacks."

According to Broodryck, although events such as the EFF rally affect the number of attacks, there is no clear and repeated reason behind them. Broodryck believes that each attack should be examined on a case-by-case basis. "While some attacks on farms may seem like simple crimes, others definitely are not," says the AfriForum spokesperson. "When victims are tortured for hours, or when racist insults are uttered during these attacks, or cases where people are murdered and nothing is stolen, then it is clear that there is more to it than just a crime."

Armed defense

Without strong consequences from the State, the Boers rely on firearms and self-defense to confront this threat. "The majority of farmers are armed and that has helped them defend themselves in many situations," explained Jacques Boodryck, who from AfriForum organizes specialized classes and training for farmers. The association currently has nearly 11,000 volunteers trained to defend farms and intends to continue increasing their numbers.