Left mainstream media ‘fact’ checkers worked overtime in the past week to prove that U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim about brutal attacks against white farmers in South Africa (“a genocide”) is fake. Some outlets even referred to it as a conspiracy theory. Instead of addressing the racism problem white South Africans are facing, the ‘fact-checkers’ derailed the discussion, just because of the way Trump brought it to attention. Is that fair?

By Arthur Blok and Paul Cliteur
A clip of a political rally with South African political leader Julius Malema went viral again in the past weeks after Elon Musk shared it on his X platform. In a two-year-old video, Malema chants “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” at a rally to celebrate National Workers Day. It was one of many rallies held by Malema, which are always attended by thousands of supporters. Nothing incidental.

The racism against white South Africans is an inconvenient reality, ignored by world leaders and downplayed by South African political leaders, including the nation’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, who visited the White House earlier this month. Ramaphosa expected more cooperation and financial aid for his country, but was instead confronted by Trump with a video and numerous newspaper articles about the atrocities committed against his compatriots.

It is an ugly reality: there is daily violence and aggression against white South Africans. But denial is the formal modus operandi of the South African government. As if everything is perfectly fine. Well, that is clearly not the case. Decades after the end of the apartheid era, the most appalling acts of white racism are condoned.

Ramaphosa’s reaction when confronted by Trump was typical. He must have thought this was Zelensky part 2 for a split second: “Now it’s my turn.” Ramaphosa defended Malema by saying that such parties are allowed by South Africa’s constitution. Downplaying the problem, comparing the crimes and murders committed against whites to overall crime rates.

Is he right?

No. Inciting civil strife in South Africa is punishable by law. The South African Constitution recognises freedom of expression (Section 16), but also limits this right by prohibiting hate speech and incitement to violence or harm. Section 16(2) of the Constitution explicitly states that advocacy of hatred based on race, ethnicity, gender, or religion that constitutes incitement to cause harm is not protected by freedom of expression. 

That means that, like in Western Europe, this right is not absolute and excludes certain forms of expression like propaganda for war, incitement of imminent violence, and advocacy of hatred based on race, ethnicity, gender, or religion that incites harm. 

With that in mind, watching the full video of the political rally headed by Malema is a must. Malema is the founder and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a communist political entity known for the red berets and military-style outfits worn by its members. Not to mention the aggression and incitement, which are normalised and spread over the party's supporters and every single political gathering they organise.

What about the figures? Do they indicate a significant problem or, as Trump mentioned, a genocide?  It is easy to fiddle the statistics if you compare the violence against white farmers with the overall crime rate in the country. Initially, it appears to involve only a tiny fraction of the country’s overall crime.

South Africa is a country that suffers from daily violence. Some even go so far as to compare the situation to a civil war. If one zooms in on Johannesburg, it is among the most dangerous cities in Africa and the world.

Comparing the number of attacks against, most often white, farmers with the overall crime figures is unfair. As of the last (2022) census, white South Africans comprise just 7.3% of the population. From a total population of roughly 63 million, fewer than 5 million are white.

South Africa has roughly 40.000 registered farms; government figures show that since 2010, there were over 5.000 registered attacks against white farmers resulting in over 850 killings and a multitude of wounded. In the first months of this year, the situation has continued to deteriorate.

The question is, of course, whether it is correct to speak of a ‘white genocide’. The definition of genocide is laid down in the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948). According to Article II of that convention, genocide is: ‘Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group’.

This may include:
·       Killing members of the group.
·       Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.
·       Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.
·       Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
·       Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

The core of genocide is therefore not only the violence or killing itself, but above all the intention to destroy a specific group as such. That intent (genocidal intent) is crucial to qualify something as genocide in a legal sense.

The words “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” leave nothing to be desired in terms of clarity. Malema is therefore guilty of inciting genocide. Ramaphosa is guilty of condoning it. Trump is right to raise this issue.