Shivambu certain of victory in ‘Kill the Boer’ case against AfriForum

Economic Freedom fighters (EFF) deputy president, Floyd Shivambu is certain of nothing short of a victory in a court case between the party and AfriForum when the ruling is made on the matter.

Shivambu suggested this during day two of the State of the Nation Address (Sona) debate at the Cape Town City Hall on Tuesday.

“The CIC of the EFF is in Gauteng to attend to a case that was brought by a [racist] organisation Afriforum to defend a song which was a battle cry to defeat the colonial and apartheid racist system in its entirety. I am sure that we will do that successfully,” Shivambu said.

AfriForum is seeking an order directing the EFF to pay R500,000 in damages and for the party to be directed to revise its policies and practices.

ALSO READ: AfriForum argues ‘Shoot the Boer’ song is hate speech

On Monday, EFF MP Marshall Dlamini insisted that AfriForum were wasting the party’s time. 

“They say it’s a hate speech case, for saying kiss the Boer, how can saying kiss the Boer be hate speech,” he asked. 

Back in 2010, EFF leader, Julius Malema was found guilty of hate speech by the equality court for singing the song and was barred from singing it.

Malema has since changed the lyrics from “Shoot the Boer” to “Kiss the Boer”, but AfriForum had complained that there was still a use of hands gesturing the use of a firearm.

AfriForum has been campaigning against the singing of the song as the organisation said it was inciting violence against white people.

Malema and AfriForum reached a settlement in 2011 when the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ordered Malema to refrain from singing such songs, forcing him to discourage his supporters from singing them.

This came after the minority rights group applied to the Equality Court proceedings against the red-beret leader in terms of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act.

The order was granted, declaring the words “awudubula ibhunu” and “Dubula amabhunu baya raypha” as hate speech, interdicting Malema from singing the song at any public or private gathering held or conducted by him.