By Zukile Majova
Julius Malema’s EFF is losing support and failing to win votes, even in areas they once claimed.
- His chants don’t scare people anymore — they just don’t carry the same weight they used to.
Julius Malema is still shouting loud, but these days fewer people are listening.
His chant “Kill the Boer, Kill the farmer” has put him back in the headlines. But most South Africans aren’t taking him seriously anymore.
The original song, Ayesaba Amagwala, was a struggle song about standing strong. It didn’t call for violence. During apartheid, white comrades in the SA Communist Party and trade unions sang it too — without being offended.
“Dubula ibhunu” was aimed at the brutal apartheid system, not white people. But Malema added his own twist to the song with phrases like “shoot to kill” and “Kill the boer, Kill the farmer”.
Most people now see it as outdated and offensive.
And here’s the thing: if Malema was chanting “Kill the Zulu,” it would have been stopped long ago.
Yes, it’s not illegal to say “Kill the boer.” But in a country still healing from its past, that kind of talk doesn’t help anyone. It undermines the dream of a united, non-racial South Africa. Juju, just stop it.
Even the ANC, which led the liberation struggle, put away some songs after 1994 — knowing they could be misunderstood as calls for violence.
South Africa needs jobs, not chaos. Farmers, black and white, are seen as job providers. These days, workers even call their bosses “mlungu wami” — whether that boss is white or black.
Malema and the EFF don’t scare people anymore. The so-called radical movement is losing steam.
The EFF has never run even one of the country’s 257 municipalities. They perform badly in by-elections, even in areas where they should be strong. They got just 5% of the vote in Richmond, 8% in Matatiele and 18% in Saldanha Bay.
Meanwhile, former president Jacob Zuma’s MK party is gaining ground and beating the EFF where it counts — at the ballot box.
Even billionaire Elon Musk seems to think Malema still has power. But he doesn’t understand that the EFF makes a lot of noise but has little impact.
If Zuma started chanting “Kill the Boer,” that would be a real threat. But Malema? He’s no threat at all.
He’s just a scarecrow shouting in the wind.
Pictured above: Julius Malema pictured above.
Image source: Economic Freedom Fighters
