The Democratic Alliance will lay a charge of incitement to violence against the African National Congress, South African Communist Party and Congress of South African Trade Unions in the Limpopo province.
DA spokesperson Sandra Botha said on Wednesday her party would lay charges after the three organisations brandished placards proclaiming: ”Enough is enough — Kill the farmer, kill the boer”, ”Tired with boers”, ”Fed up with killer boers” and ”Castrate boers”.
The placards were reportedly displayed during a court appearance of four men accused of feeding former colleague Nelson Shisane to lions in Limpopo earlier in February.
Four men — Mark Scott-Crossley, Simon Mathebula, Richard Mathebula and Robert Mnisi — appeared in court on a charge of murder and grievous bodily harm.
But charges against Mnisi were dropped after he agreed to become a witness for the prosecution.
Botha said: ”Instead of urging all South Africans to unite in voicing their abhorrence of this incident, the ANC and its alliance partners have sought to sow racial divisions and enforce racial stereotypes.”
She said the parties were spreading misinformation.
”Firstly, there are three people accused of Shisane’s murder, only one of whom is white. There does not appear to be any racial motive in the alleged murder. Secondly, Mark Scott-Crossley is not a farmer. He runs a business from a smallholding.”
Botha said the incident was not a true reflection of farmers, Afrikaners, whites, or any other grouping the tripartite alliance chose to target.
”If the ANC and its alliance partners insist on jumping to conclusions about racist motives and putting entire communities in the dock along with the accused, we will never heal the racial divisions of the past.”
Last year, the South African Human Rights Commission declared the slogan ”Kill the boer, kill the farmer” to be hate speech. — Sapa