ConCourt to rule on ‘hit the boer’ song

The Constitutional Court will hear an application on whether workers can be fired for singing struggle songs on Thursday.

The Constitutional Court. Picture: Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp

The Constitutional Court will on Thursday hear an application about whether workers can be fired for singing certain struggle songs.

In 2013, nine Duncanmec employees in Germiston were fired for singing a song, which included the words, “my mother is rejoicing when we hit the boers”.

The Engineering Bargaining Council and the Labour Court ordered that the employees be reinstated.

But the employer argues their relationship has broken down irreparably.

In 2010, Julius Malema was charged for leading students in singing the song, “dubula ibunu”, or “kill the boer”. The slogan, “kill the boer”, was declared hate speech by the Human Rights Commission in 2011, and Malema and the ANC Youth League, which he was president of at the time, was banned from singing it.

Whether singing this, a different song that calls for the boer to be hit rather than killed, can be considered a fireable offence, will now be decided in South Africa’s highest court.