Mbeki Defends Controversial Chant Despite Global Backlash

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has defended the controversial “Kill the Boer” chant, insisting it’s a symbolic remnant of the anti-apartheid struggle and is not meant to be taken literally. He argued that such chants, rooted in African tradition, are meant to motivate people and not incite them. Mbeki also highlighted that the ANC never sanctioned attacks on civilians during the liberation war. His remarks follow US President Donald Trump’s call for Julius Malema’s arrest over the chant, which Trump tied to alleged violence targeting white farmers—a claim South Africa denies. Despite international criticism, South Africa’s Constitutional Court recently upheld the chant’s legality, concluding that no reasonable person will consider it a call to violence.

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