DA to approach UN over Malema's 'Kill the Boer' chant

This comes after Malema chanted "Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer" at the party's 10th-anniversary rally at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

Steenhuisen made the announcement during a live address to the nation on Monday morning.

He said the ANC has to be held accountable for" failure to take action against their one-time protégé even as brutal farm murders continue to escalate in the wake of Malema’s demagoguery".

"The charge will be laid in terms of Malema’s violation of at least three key UN charters. The first is the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Article 3 of the Convention makes it a punishable offence to direct and publicly incite people to commit mass murder on the basis of their identity.

“The second is the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. This declaration compels the South African government to ensure that persons belonging to minority groups may exercise their rights – including, in this case, the right to life and to practice the profession of farming – without any discrimination," said Steenhuisen.

He said the party will also file a complaint with Parliament’s ethics committee against Malema in his capacity as a Member of Parliament.

"We are further obtaining legal advice on approaching the Public Protector and the courts."

The DA will be the second party to take Malema to court over the chant.

 Lobby group AfriForum has already lost its case at the Equality Court, which found that  Afriforum failed to prove the song constitutes hate speech.

The group lodged its complaint in October 2020 after supporters of the EFF sang “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” outside the Senekal Magistrates Court in the Free State,  where the accused murderers of farm manager Brendin Horner appeared.

The Equality Court granted AfriForum an opportunity to approach the Supreme Court of Appeal to challenge its judgment.

The matter is set to be argued in September.

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