The controversial “Kill the Boer” chant has reignited international condemnation as South African leaders face mounting pressure to denounce what critics call incitement against white farmers and Afrikaners. The government’s silence has drawn sharp rebukes from advocacy groups and global figures, raising concerns over escalating racial tensions in the country.
AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel warned that the world is watching South Africa’s response—or lack thereof—to the chant, which he described as hate speech. *”The continued use of this violent slogan, openly calling for the murder of farmers and Afrikaners, has not gone unnoticed internationally,”* Kriel stated on social media. “Global leaders see that President Ramaphosa, the ANC, and the government tacitly endorse it by refusing to condemn it.”
The continued use of the hateful “Kill the Boer” chant, which calls for the murder of both Afrikaners and farmers, does not go unnoticed by powerful people internationally. They also note that @PresidencyZA Ramaphosa, ANC leaders, and the South African government give the chant… pic.twitter.com/BS690e0ODX
— Kallie Kriel (@kalliekriel) March 25, 2025
The backlash intensified after Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema led crowds in singing the chant during Human Rights Day commemorations in Sharpeville on March 21. Malema dismissed the official holiday, declaring, “We are not here to celebrate ‘Human Rights Day’ but to honor those massacred by apartheid on this day in 1960.”
AfriForum’s Ernst van Zyl slammed the timing as grotesque irony, accusing Ramaphosa of cowardice for not confronting Malema. “For years, the government has ignored farm attacks and murders while tolerating hateful rhetoric like ‘Kill the Boer,'” Van Zyl said. “This crisis should force them to finally take a stand.”
The dispute has attracted scrutiny from high-profile figures, including Elon Musk and former U.S. President Donald Trump, who have accused South Africa of permitting anti-white incitement. Musk previously called the chant “a call for genocide,”* while Ramaphosa dismissed such claims as “a false narrative meant to divide us.”
Despite a 2022 High Court ruling that the chant does not legally constitute hate speech, AfriForum insists it fuels violence against farmers. The group is now demanding that farm murders be declared a national priority crime, arguing that minority communities face systemic neglect in South Africa’s justice system.
As global attention grows, the government’s refusal to address the chant’s resurgence risks further damaging South Africa’s reputation—and deepening its racial divides.
