The Origin of “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer”
Straight off the bat, this is poor English.
“Boer” and Farmer literally mean the same thing; so why is it repeated?
Secondly why is this chant so specific? Why doesn’t it say “Kill the polieseman” or “Kill die soldaat”
For reference the actual instruments of subjugation during apartheid were the police (polieseman) and the army (weermag) and the soldiers (soldaat).
Lastly; “Boer” has a double meaning in that it refers to both a culture/people and profession which is farming. This double meaning is part of the problem.
The basis of understanding the origins of this chant while admittedly horrific to some; is generally necessary.
APLA or the Azanian Peoples Liberation Army which was the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress (“PAC”) had a slogan called “One Settler, One Bullet”; APLA target farmers.
In 1991 APLA launched Operation Great Storm, a violent paramilitary campaign aimed at displacing white farmers to reclaim land for black Africans and obtaining arms and funding. Initially APLA attacked and robbed farmsteads in the Free State and Eastern Cape provinces resulting in a number of farm deaths.
APLA targeted farmers and used the chant “One Settler, One Bullet”
What seems to have happened is these 2 chants “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” and “One Settler, One Bullet” have been merged while their origins and purpose are completely different; its as if the intention of the latter has been imposed in the meaning of the former (chants that is).
Kill the Boer, also known as Dubula iBhunu, was popularized in the early 1990s by Peter Mokaba who at the time was the leader of the ANC Youth League; a title Julius Malema would later hold.
When Peter Mokaba was asked about the chant; his response was:
“ 'Kill the boer, kill the farmer' is not a meaningless song, it is a song that expresses real conditions of life our people but the meaning that is given to it by the boers, by the regime, is not the meaning that our people understand it to be.”
He also cites the other MK song "Hambagatle uMkhonto". It says, "Go well MK but do not worry of course because we, members of MK are determined to kill the boers." That is the literal translation of the song.
Even then the meaning of the chant was never clear…
This interviewer, Peter O Malley also remarked about Thabo Mbeki: “In fact Mbeki is like the white man's ideal of what a black President should look like, should behave like, should sound like, a man who knows his brandy and cigars and can mix anywhere, a cosmopolitan.”
When Thabo was asked about the chant, this was his response:
Ultimately we find that owners of the “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” chant; it was uMkhonto weSizwe or MK – the paramilitary wing of the ANC. This is important because it now separates this chant from the APLA “One Settler, One Bullet”.
These are different chants, from different groups and subsequently different meanings.
The lingering question is why Boers and not policemen or soldiers?
For this answer, we turn to a preeminent historian aka Julius Malema; who strangely enough understands where this chant came from:
“Because when you enter the country, you go through the farms”
Who enters the country? MK
Why do you need to enter the country? Banned in SA and training outside SA
What is on the border? Farms
Who is protecting the border from MK? Farmers or Boers
“Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” is very very specific in this instance; it refers to the border farmers.
Hence the chant doesn’t talk about policemen, reservists, special branch, the army or even soldiers; its specific to border farmers.
Ultimately the MK had problem with the farmers/boers on the borders of South Africa denying them entry into the country; however when one identifies as a Boer or ascribes Boer as a culture; this chant aimed at border farmers now takes on a whole other meaning and is aimed at an entire race rather than the profession of farming.
Needless to say, all the parties involved in the “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” are exploiting the chant for their own political/emotional gains.
Some updated facts:
MK can come and go as they please
There is no border problem aside from it being porus and any manner of illegal foreigner being able to come in.
Julius himself is currently at loggerheads with MK, why use their chant?
The EFF’s open border policy runs contrary to what this chant is about; the chant refers to South Africans entering the country and being blocked by farmers; not foreigners.
Is “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” relevant anymore? Politically no, as nostalgia and political training then maybe, yes.
Is “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” being misused, misconstrued and misunderstood?
Yes… by everyone.
References:
https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/cis/omalley/OMalleyWeb/03lv00017/04lv00344/05lv00730/06lv00768.htm
https://www.politicsweb.co.za/opinion/malemas-farm-murder-falsehoods