Singing 'shoot the Boer' not hate speech, declares Equality Court
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AfriForum called three expert witnesses. Ernst Roets, AfriForum's head of policy, testified Malema used the land expropriation argument to incite violence.
Molahlehi said Roets was disqualified as an expert in this matter because of his proximity to the case, and his testimony was based on hearsay.
The second witness for AfriForum, Gabriel Crouse from the IRR, was found to have not assisted the court in his testimony.
“His testimony is of no assistance to the court and did not assist in any manner or advance the case for AfriForum. It is rejected as he is not an expert,” Molahlehi said.
The testimony of a third witness, a survivor of a farm attack, was also not considered as he claimed the singing of the struggle song incites violence. “It doesn't show how the singing incited violence,” said the judge.
Molahlehi said the court took a flexible and less formal approach to the evidence in the matter.
The EFF brought two experts to testify — Malema and African literature scholar Prof Elizabeth Gunner.
Malema said the song should not be taken literally and that it was not a song but a chant.
Gunner dissected the role of songs in performance politics and how the struggle past intersects with the present. She spoke of the deeper meaning of political songs and their role in the public life of a state, particularly an African state, given the long cultural matrix and history.
“You can see the song as an example of a song working to call people together, to make a point about the SA present and history, using it as a means and expression of defiance.”
The court accepted her testimony.
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