Dubul' ibhunu

"Dubul' ibhunu" (Xhosa: [dəbʊliːbuːnuː]), translated as shoot the Boer,^[1] as kill the Boer^[2] or as kill the farmer,^[3][4] is a controversial anti-apartheid South African song. It is sung in Xhosa or Zulu. The song originates in the struggle against apartheid when it was first sung to protest the Afrikaner-dominated apartheid government of South Africa.^[5]

Supporters of the song see it as a song that articulates an important part of South Africa's history,^[6][7] is an important part of political discourse,^[8][9] and that its meaning has been misconstrued.^[10] Opponents of the song argue that can be seen to bear a literal interpretation^{[5][11][12][13]} and therefore constitutes hate speech.^[5][14] Social and political commentators on South Africa, such as Jonathan Jansen^[15][16] and Stephen Grootes,^[17] have noted the song's ability to increase racial divisions^[18][19] and polarisation whilst strengthening radicals on either side of the country's political spectrum.^[17]

Boers, a sub-group of Afrikaners, are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in southern Africa who migrated to the rest of what would become South Africa during the Great Trek. The word boer also means 'farmer' in the Afrikaans language^[14] and, depending on the context, is often a pejorative term for an Afrikaner when used by non-Afrikaners.^[20][21]

Depending on the interpretation, the song might alternatively refer to institutional structures such as the National Party (NP), or to specific groups of people such as members of the South African Police (colloquially known as Boers), the armed forces in South Africa during apartheid,^[6] white farmers,^{[22][23]: 14} or to a specific ethnic or racial group generally.^{[22][10][24][23]: 233}

Then African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Gwede Mantashe has stated that interpreting dubul' ibhunu as 'kill the boer, kill the farmer' are perceiving a "vulgarised" version of the song that "incit[es] conflict" and that the song should instead be interpreted in the context of the struggle against apartheid as referring to a system.^[5][25] Critics of the song such as AfriForum and TAU-SA believe that the song encourages, and can be partly blamed for, the violent attacks on South African farms owned by White people.^[6]

The song has origins across the South African anti-apartheid political spectrum and was used by both the ANC and Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). It pre-dates the toyi-toyi protest dance.^[26]: 333

One of the first recorded accounts of dubul' ibhunu was during the Delmas Treason Trial in 1985. The song was brought up in testimony during the trail wherein the prosecutor tried to link the defendants to the song and thereby prove malicious intent. The defense was able to rebut the implication that the accused acted with mens rea when it was proven that they were not present during its singing.^{[27]: 284–287}

During the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, Ntuthuko Chuene claimed that he killed Godfrey Frederick Lanz Heuer on his farm in August 1992 because he had been influenced by the "kill the Boer, kill the farmer" chant at ANC rallies.^[28][29] Chuene was convicted for Heuer's murder and sought clemency for what he argued was a politically motivated killing. Heuer's wife refused to give her permission to grant Chuene amnesty, arguing that Chuene's act was criminal in motivation rather than political.^[28]

Anti-apartheid activist and politician Peter Mokaba sang the song at a 1993 memorial rally for the recently assassinated anti-apartheid leader Chris Hani. The period in the run-up to South Africa's first democratic election in 1994 and subsequent transfer of power from white-minority government was a notable period of instability for South Africa marked with fears of potential for widespread racial violence.^[5] It was feared that the assassination of Chris Hani might trigger such violence and political chaos.^[5] This coincided with Operation Great Storm, a violent paramilitary campaign launched by the Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), the armed wing of the PAC, aimed at violently displacing white farmers to reclaim land for black Africans.^[30][31][32]

At Mokaba's funeral in 2002 the crowd spontaneously sang the song while ANC leaders were present.^[5]

The song is controversial in post-apartheid South Africa,^[10] where it has experienced a revival,^[27] being most notably sung by then African National Congress Youth League (ANCLY) leader, later leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema^[33] and then South African President Jacob Zuma.^[34] The song, along with the slogan "One settler, one bullet", is often associated with the phenomenon of farm attacks in South Africa.^[23]: 14

Malema first sang the song during a speech he was giving, in his capacity as President of the ANCLY, at the University of Johannesburg in 2010; where he sang in the context of post-1994 South Africa's slow resolution to the problem unequal distribution of land ownership along racial lines.^[26][5] Four weeks after Malema's 2010 singing of the song the leader of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (a far-right wing Afrikaner nationalist party), Eugene Terre'Blanche, was murdered on his farm. Following these events the Afrikaner civil rights organisation AfriForum opened a case against Malema alleging that his use of the song was a provocation to racial violence and hate speech.^[26]: 333

At the EFF's 10th anniversary rally in 2023, Malema (now as leader of the EFF) again sang the song to an estimated 90,000 supporters^[35] at the FNB Stadium.^[36] The incident received international coverage with Elon Musk criticizing Malema on Twitter for singing the song, accusing him of "openly pushing for the genocide of white people in South Africa".^[36][37] Malema subsequently replied on Twitter stating "O bolela masepa ("You are talking shit").^[37] Following the EFF's 2023 rally Afriforum stated that the song was, according to testimony from Amanda Platt, sung by the perpetrators during a violent farm attack on Tim and Amanda Platt in KwaZulu-Natal; citing the incident as evidence of the song's literal and violent intent.^[38]

South Africa's official opposition political party, the Democratic Alliance, stated it would file a complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Council^[36][39] whilst the Freedom Front Plus opened a case of intimidation.^[39] Malema later denied the accusation, citing Judge Molahlehi's 2022 judgement that the song was to be interpreted within its political context and thus not to be taken literally.^[36][39][40] Malema also stated that he and the EFF would continue to sing the song.^[41]

The Anti-Defamation League has issued a notice stating that despite its origins, the crude lyrics could be interpreted as a call for violence and urged to avoid invoking expressions that include violent threats.^[42]

On 6 August 2023, The South African reported on a "surge" in attacks on white farmsteads after the EFF sang the song.^[43]

The song has been the subject of multiple court cases seeking to determine if the song is a form of hate speech, which is not protected speech by the South African Constitution and so is an offence to utter, or if it is a form of free speech that is protected by the constitution.

Following a complaint from the Freedom Front the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) ruled that the song amounted hate speech in the context of a post-apartheid South Africa that was seeking reconciliation.^[44]

In March 2010 South Gauteng High Court found that the phrase, spoken or sung, dubul'ibhunu ('shoot the boer') amounted to hate speech^[10][5] and was therefore not protected free speech as outlined in section 16 of the South African constitution.^[5]

In September 2011, the Equality Court at the South Gauteng High Court ruled that the song was discriminatory, harmful, undermined the dignity of Afrikaners, and thereby constituted hate speech;^[33] and that it "prima facie satisfies the crime of incitement to murder."^[45] The court ruled that Julius Malema, who was brought before the court for previously singing the song at rallies, was forbidden from singing it in the future.^[33] Following the ruling Malema changed the wording of the song to "Kiss the Boer" and sang that instead^[46]—however, it can be argued to still have the same psychological influence as the original, due to the well-known context for the altered lyrics. The following year, the ANC stated that they would not sing the song any more.^[46]

The SAHRC acquitted Malema on five accounts of hate speech towards White and Indian South Africans, one of the charges being for the singing of an altered "Kiss the boer" version of dubul' ibhunu.^[47] The SAHRC found that although Malema's comments were "still quite problematic to us in a democratic society that is committed to healing the divisions"^[47] the charges brought against him were an attempt at suppressing "legitimate criticism and debate."^[47] In July 2023 the Johannesburg High Court set aside the 2019 SAHRC finding, ruling that the SAHRC had acted outside its mandate in its finding on hateful speech.^[48]

Malema, now leader of the EFF, again appeared in court in 2022 for allegedly singing the song in a case brought by Afriforum where the issue of whether or not the song was hate speech was debated.^[49] The Johannesburg High Court ruled that the chant and song were not intended to be taken seriously; that Afriforum had failed to establish a causal link between the song and violence;^[50][51] that the reference to Boer did not literally refer to White or Afrikaans people; that the song did not incite hatred towards White people generally; and ruled the song was not hate speech.^[51][52][53] Afriforum appealed the decision and in 2024 the Supreme Court of Appeal confirmed the High Court's verdict that the song, as sung during the Senekal incidents, was not hate speech.^[54][55]