Keypoints
- Malema dismisses Trump’s arrest call
- ‘Kill the Boer’ defended as struggle heritage
- EFF backs Palestine, calls for African unity
SOUTH Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has openly defied US President Donald Trump’s call for his arrest, stating that even global figures like Trump and Elon Musk fear the rise of his radical party.
Addressing a Youth Day rally in Durban on Monday, Malema lashed out at Washington’s criticism over his repeated chanting of the controversial ‘Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer’ struggle song.
‘You see this EFF party? Even Donald Trump is very scared of it. Even Elon Musk is very scared of this EFF,’ Malema told supporters. ‘We must not allow the US to dictate to us what needs to happen in South Africa.’
Trump demands action over ‘Kill the Boer’
Malema’s remarks follow a tense Oval Office meeting between Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, during which Trump demanded Malema’s arrest for incitement. Trump accused the EFF leader of promoting violence against white farmers and alleged a ‘white genocide’ underway in South Africa.
According to sources, Trump even had the lights dimmed during the meeting before playing a video clip of Malema chanting the song, pressing Ramaphosa on why he had not been arrested.
Ramaphosa flatly rejected the allegations, calling them unfounded and inflammatory, and defended the song’s status as protected speech under South Africa’s Constitution.
‘It’s our heritage—we’ll defend it’
Malema, unshaken, reiterated his position that the song is a symbol of anti-apartheid resistance and not a literal threat to white South Africans.
‘It’s not my song—it’s a song of struggle,’ he said. ‘It’s our heritage, and we’ll defend it. Nobody will stop us from singing it.’
He rejected claims of racial violence: ‘No one wants to kill white people. We are saying, let’s live together in peace—but we can’t live in peace unless you return the land you stole from us.’
Malema also warned that Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service would not operate in South Africa unless it complied with local laws.
‘Starlink will never work in South Africa for as long as the EFF exists and as long as they do not want to comply with the law of South Africa,’ he said.
From Soweto to Gaza: EFF stands with Palestine
Drawing a parallel between the 1976 Soweto uprising and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Malema expressed solidarity with Palestinian children resisting occupation.
‘The 1976 youth were killed because they refused to let others take over their land. Similarly, Palestinian children are fighting. We support the children of Palestine. We’ve been there before.’
Malema likened their struggle to South Africa’s historic resistance, adding: ‘We know what it means to be dispossessed. We know what it feels like to be oppressed.’
Vision for a united Africa
Reiterating his pan-Africanist agenda, Malema called for the establishment of a continental army, single African currency, parliament, and leadership.
‘Africa must unite. We need our own army, our own currency, our own voice. We can’t depend on Western powers to defend or develop us.’
While the EFF saw its support dip to 9.5 percent in last year’s elections—down from its previous third-place showing—Malema’s fiery rhetoric and unapologetic stance continue to galvanise large crowds, especially among the youth and economically marginalised.
