AfriForum's 'Kill the Boer' loss: 'In hate speech cases, context is everything' – Advocate

702's John Perlman interviews Ben Winks, an Advocate specialising in media, constitutional and international law.

Listen below: 

The Constitutional Court has rejected AfriForum’s application for leave to appeal in its effort to have the controversial song 'Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer' banned.

In a ruling delivered on Thursday, the court determined that the application lacked reasonable prospects of success.

AfriForum has been outspoken in its campaign to remove the song from public spaces, arguing that it promotes violence and is deeply rooted in South Africa's racially charged history.

RELATED: AfriForum lashes out at judges

However, Winks says that AfriForum made a procedural mistake by failing to call a counter-expert when the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) introduced Professor Liz Gunner, an expert on linguistics, struggle literature, and struggle songs.

He explains that Gunner's testimony underscored the argument that the song’s meaning cannot be detached from its historical and political context.

"Something that might sound particularly offensive in one context, might be innocuous in another," he says.

"In hate speech cases, context is everything."

- Ben Winks, Advocate specialising in Media, Constitutional and International Law

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