DA lays criminal charges against Ndlozi for ‘burn the boers’ song

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has laid criminal charges against the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF’s) Mbuyiseni Ndlozi for incitement to arson.

DA chief whip Natasha Mazzone said the charges were laid on Thursday following a song the DA claims the EFF MP sang in Senekal which, the DA said, translates to “call the fire brigade, burn these Boers”.

“These utterances are not only incredibly hateful, but is a call to incite arson, violence and anarchy by Ndlozi and his fellow EFF quasi-revolutionaries,” Mazzone said.

“The DA strongly condemns Ndlozi’s utterances. Not only are they indicative of his vile disregard for the safety of rural communities and their lives, it is also indicative of him and his party’s complete disregard for democracy, the rule of law and private property rights.

“Thousands of hectares of land have been on fire and destroyed in the Free State, and while the cause of these fires are still unknown, we do know that a politician sang songs calling ‘the fire brigade’ to ‘burn these Boers’ and that this was followed by large scale destruction.”

According to Mazzone, the red berets “are known instigators of violence and destruction” who “would rather see the country burn in pursuit of their narrow political interests”.

“The DA will not stand by and watch how fascist and racist bullies such as the EFF disregard the laws that govern our country. Unlike the EFF, the DA is a party of rules, laws, constitutionalism and democracy,” Mazzone said.

Mazzone said the party had also laid a complaint with Parliament’s Ethics Committee and referred Ndlozi’s alleged utterances “to the South African Human Rights Commission to investigate the words within these songs and declare them as hate speech”.

“It is time that Parliament, Chapter 9 institutions and law enforcement agencies show their teeth and take actions against the hooliganism and violence demonstrated by the EFF. These institutions should be at the forefront of investigating and protecting our democracy, they simply cannot cower in the shadows.

“While the EFF tries to pull the country into further chaos through race baiting vitriol, the DA will hold our ground as the rational and peace-loving centre that will continue to fight for the strengthening of our democracy.”

(Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu)

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