Malema sticks to his guns over ‘Kill the boer’

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema said yesterday if the party had an intention to kill people after its 10th-anniversary celebrations, it would have had the numbers to do so.

“We had over 100 000 people under our nose after chanting it, we could have all left the stadium in unison to go and kill white people, but our people understand that it doesn’t mean what these people are saying,” Malema said.

He said if the “Kill the boer, kill the farmer” song was an incitement to violence, then black people would have attacked white people in the ’90s, when the song was first chanted.

“We had all the reason to do it in the ’90s, but still didn’t do it, so why would we do it now? I do not know when you say now it’s an incitement to violence. We couldn’t do it when [former president] FW de Klerk was killing people in Boipatong, that is when this song should have incited violence but it didn’t,” he said.

He said he would not stop singing the song and “would not overexplain” himself.

Yesterday, violence erupted when a group of white men approached the EFF headquarters in Gandhi Square in Johannesburg.

It is believed that the men approached the EFF headquarters after Malema chanted “Kill the boer, kill the farmer” at the FNB Stadium on Saturday.

The men were, however, violently marshalled out by the EFF officials Marshall Dlamini, Vuyani Pambo and a few party members who were in the vicinity.

Malema has been accused of inciting violence against white people for chanting the song. But he warned that the party would not tolerate any provocation from anyone.

“This is the only liberated zone in South Africa. No white man comes and takes chances here. Those who came here must thank their God, and they must try it again. It is not a play area here. You can argue your politics wherever you are, but don’t come here,” he said.

“We never go to anyone’s offices. We never interfere with anyone’s programmes. We have got everything we need to protect this office and we will defend it with our lives. No-one must come here and take chances.”

He said those who assaulted the men outside the party’s headquarters “didn’t do a proper job”.

“I didn’t like it. I wanted more than that. You know me, I want to deal with real stuff. I wanted proper arrangements.”

Malema also warned Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen and DA federal council chair Helen Zille against trying to march to the EFF headquarters because of the “Kill the boer, kill the farmer” chant.

“This is a revolutionary house, I told John he is a small boy. Let him try to do those things he has been doing like marching to the ANC headquarters. Let him come and try it here. Let him one day when he is bored come and try that nonsense here,” he said.

“We will not care whether on that day he has rented black people to march with the DA, as long as you are wearing a DA T-shirt to the EFF offices on that day in a disrespectful manner, you will know what the EFF is. He must bring that one with a wrinkled botox face [Zille], we will teach them that this is not a place where we are scared of a white man.”