Musk’s ‘kill the boer’ saga: South Africans and analysts weigh in

Billionaire Elon Musk yesterday split opinion in his country of birth when he weighed in on the “Kill the boer” saga.

Musk made a plea to President Cyril Ramaphosa to address Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) leader Julius Malema, who is apparently “openly pushing for the genocide of white people”.

But Pauline Kempster-Britz from Johannesburg said Musk was all talk and no action.

“Musk can be proud of his heritage, but where is his pride when he is asked to do something to contribute towards ending the state the country is in,” she asked.

Kempster-Britz said people were desperate for jobs, especially after Covid, and would do anything for money to put food on the table.

“If Elon Musk is so concerned about SA, why has he not offered to step in long ago and made some form of contribution?

“Stay in your lane Musk, if you want to open your mouth, then take some action. You are all talk, no action!”

Mamelodi resident Khuliso Ralidzhivha said Musk could not have a say because he wasn’t involved in the issues happening in South Africa.

“So he might not know how some of the issues unfold. Maybe he isn’t that relevant to us, he is only rich,” he said.

“They (the EFF) are doing as much as possible to get things going right in the country.

“There will always be people who oppose them because the EFF is known to be harsh. I don’t think they are that bad, because they look at the needs of the people,” he said.

Jomo Baloyi from Sunnyside said singing the “Kill the boer” song was wrong.

“They should be taken to court, it is unacceptable,” he said. Baloyi said South Africa was a rainbow nation and its citizens had to act appropriately.

“We are one. Here we are black and white. They must stop this ‘kill the boer’. I don’t support that, it’s rubbish,” he said.

Baloyi asked why the president had not said anything.

“Ramaphosa is supposed to call Malema to order. We don’t want to be like Zimbabwe here in South Africa because of Malema,” he said.

Political analyst Dr Benjamin Rapanyane said: “We acknowledge that Musk has done nothing to resolve our problems in South Africa. We also discourage the singing of the genocidal anti-apartheid struggle song ‘Kill the boer, kill the farmer’ because it is racially violent.”

Political analyst Piet Croucamp said it was concerning that the president did not respond to what Malema was saying.

“When Musk applied via Starlink to provide access to very fast internet for the whole of South Africa, including the most rural areas, it was denied by the ANC government because they insisted he have a 30% shareholding of BEE,” he said.

Croucamp said this had deprived millions of people of access to the internet.

“People who say Musk is not doing anything for SA don’t know what they are talking about,” he added.

AfriForum is the latest group to take on Malema after a packed FNB stadium sung “Kill the boer” with him at the party’s 10th birthday bash.

CEO Kallie Kriel said AfriForum’s appeal against the Equality Court’s finding that the “Kill the boer” chant was not hate speech will be heard on 4 September in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.

Kriel said the appeal court case formed part of AfriForum’s strategy to oppose Malema’s racist and polarising actions on three fronts: legal action, mobilising community safety structures and promoting mutual recognition and respect between cultural communities.

Kriel said AfriForum would approach the Constitutional Court if necessary.

“Should SA courts find it is acceptable for Malema to sing songs that incite genocide against minorities, AfriForum will pursue the case internationally,” he added.