Farm attacks: Views differ on link to ‘Kill the boer’ song

Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s spokesperson for community safety, says there is definitely a link between the “Kill the boer” song and the increase in farm attacks and murders.

“There has also been an increase in attacks recently. The week before the EFF’s birthday celebrations, there was one farm murder and directly after the singing of the song that weekend, there were three farm murders,” he said.

Broodryk said AfriForum had also noted an increase in attempted farm attacks, but added its security structure was organised and had many successes.

“Look at the murders of Alice and Helen Lotter in 2009, their blood was used to write on the walls, ‘kill the farmers’. There was a case of a suspect who testified under oath that he was influenced by that song when he heard it with the ANC and that is what led him there,” he said.

AfriForum’s farm murder and attacks statistics in the first quarter of the year showed that 421 attacks were recorded from January-March 2023 which included nine murders.

The combined number of farm attacks and farm murders for the first quarter per province were Gauteng (128), North West (64) and the Free State (53).

Action Society’s Ian Cameron said it seemed there was a correlation or a definite spike right after the EFF’s anniversary.

“It’s difficult to say (what was) the exact motive of each attack. It worries me that the table’s being set for these attacks to be committed, for it to be acceptable and for it to be welcomed.”

Cameron recently said on social media that someone had described an attacked woman’s bloody face as a work of art.

“It makes me sick. In this case, there has been a spike since the last singing,” he said.

But experts are conflicted about the link between farm murders and the song. Some say it is wrong and incites farm murders, while others say it’s just a song and farmers of all races are under attack.

Criminologist Professor Witness Maluleke said the link between farm murders and the song was unfounded.

“Its encouragement to farm attacks cannot be proven at the moment. Even black people are potential victims of farm murder.

“Criminal cases should prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that black people as potential perpetrators of farm attacks, are heavily influenced by the song to support this conflicting ideology. A failure to do so renders injustice to this statement.

“It can be regarded as hate speech by whites, while remaining a struggle song to black people, so a common mutual ground should be quickly reached,” he said.

Head of political studies and international relations at North-West University Dr Benjamin Rapanyane said there was no need for a debate about the notion that the song resulted in gangsters who did not understand the struggle song going on a rampage murdering white farmers.

“The continuation of the singing of the so-called struggle song will continue to encourage those who do not understand it is purely a struggle song to continue to incite more violence against white farmers, which will create a bad image of the EFF.

“There is a direct link between the song and farm murders. Malema’s defence of the song will not ease the situation but worsen it,” he said.

President of the Black Farmers Association of South Africa Dr Lennox Xolile Mtshagi said the song was just a song and did no harm.

Criminologist Professor Jaco Barkhuizen said the problem with the concept of farm murders was that it was not seen as farm murders by police.

“Any murder is labelled a murder. Agricultural institutions usually keep records but these records are not exhaustive and don’t cover everything. It was impossible to say whether the singing of a struggle song was causative in the current rate of murders”, he added.