Populism and history collide in ‘Kill the Boer’ debate

To many outsiders, repeated explanations – the latest from President Cyril Ramaphosa – that Kill the Boer is merely a slogan from the liberation struggle and not meant to be taken literally, ring hollow.

The song has been amplified around the world, thanks to the Donald Trump megaphone, and it’s taken centre stage in that White House meeting.

It was given such prominence thanks to the energetic lobbying of groups like AfriForum and others, who have convinced Trump and the global right-wing movement that there is a genocide of white people in South Africa.

However, the outcry about it from around the globe has also encouraged those who use the song for their populist ends, like EFF leader Julius Malema.

It has, in consequence, become sung even more in South Africa.

While the courts have agreed that Kill the Boer has its roots in the liberation struggle, it is worrying that its current use has not been considered when making that evaluation.

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Firstly, there is no longer an apartheid state to be fought, and the song can no longer be considered as a rallying cry.

However, there is still a perception held by many who were victims of apartheid and their descendants that a second struggle – for economic liberation – is under way.

And that the enemy – the group which keeps them from what is rightly theirs – is the same whites who enforced apartheid.

Many of those singing along with Malema have very little connection with the struggle but see the current situation in simple black-and-white – and black versus white – terms.

While to the courts and people like Ramaphosa, the song might be non-violent; to many being led by populists, it has become a rallying cry. And that might well lead to killings.

That’s a reality which cannot – and should not – be wished away.

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