OPINION

The court ruling on “Kill the Boer” is a disgrace

Phumlani Majozi says utterances that inflame hate and violence will do nothing good for SA

It is a disgrace. That AfriForum's hate speech case against the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) over "Kill the Boer" chant has been dismissed by the Johannesburg High Court, disgraces Nelson Mandela’s South Africa. It is not what South Africa deserves. 

No South African must be allowed to promote murder of other South Africans through chants or any other methods. In a country that has a long history of racially-charged tensions and violence, chants like “Kill the Boer” must not be tolerated.

Any activity or utterance that fuels racial divisions, inflames hate and violence, will not make South Africa a prosperous society. For more than 300 years, our country had intense racial divisions. Only in the late 20th century did we start to build a united nation of diverse people, with one goal. It has not been easy, as government bureaucrats and politicians still divide us along racial lines.

Chanting "Kill the Boer" will not do South Africa any good. What makes things worse is that the chant is by an organization that sits in South Africa's legislature and makes laws. That makes the whole situation even more dangerous.

This judgment also reminds us that many South African voters are ignorant and irresponsible. An ignorant voter in a democracy can inflict devastating, long-lasting damage to the country.

The EFF is not supposed to be in South Africa's legislature. It is an organization that promotes violence, promotes racism, and is communist. The fact that South Africans sent this organization to the legislature is one of South Africa's biggest blunders in the modern era. Because of this reckless action by voters, South Africans pay a price, and will pay a price. When that price is paid, we must not blame other people. We must blame ourselves because we voted these dangerous left-wing radicals into the legislature.

What has been disturbing to me is seeing many black people on Twitter, and other social networks celebrating Johannesburg’s High Court Judgment on "Kill the Boer" chant. How could this be?

How could something that destroys our unity, and damages the moral fabric of our society be celebrated? Baffling to me.

Some of these people on social media think that the problem, or one of the problems in South Africa is white people and their “racism”, or organizations like AfriForum. No, it is not white people or organizations like AfriForum who are a problem in any way in South Africa.

It is black people who have been in charge of governance over the past 28 years of South Africa's democracy. It is the ANC that has been looting taxpayers' money that could have been used to drastically reduce poverty.

The state-capture corruption network – that cost South Africa billions of dollars – came into existence under ANC governance. All the problems we have from skyrocketing crime to high rates of unemployment and porous borders, are happening under ANC governance. Crime can be reduced drastically in just two years. So it's irrational to blame apartheid, for any of these problems we are experiencing under ANC governance.

We must stop being dishonest to ourselves if we want to move forward as a country. We must be a united nation that strives for prosperity. Bad people, including racists exist in every racial group. As individuals, we must pay almost attention to them, and report them to law enforcement if they do that which unlawful to us.

We must focus on upskilling ourselves, educating ourselves, buying and selling in the market, paying taxes, building strong families, being law abiding citizens, entrepreneurship, and voting corruption and incompetence out of power. We must strive to be competitive in the global market. With that mindset, we will become a prosperous nation with a GDP per capita of $55 000.

I am pleased that AfriForum is appealing Johannesburg's High Court ruling. It is a terrible ruling that, if not reversed, will cause long lasting harm to South Africa. The EFF will keep dividing the nation, spreading hate with pride, at the expense of the country's reputation and progress. That must not be accepted. AfriForum has my support on this "Kill the Boer" matter.

Phumlani M. Majozi is a banking foreign exchange and treasury business analyst, a non-executive director, and senior fellow at African Liberty. His website is phumlanimajozi.com. Follow him on Twitter: @PhumlaniMMajozi