AfriForum said it would appeal the verdict of the "kill the boer" hate speech case after the Equality Court on Thursday declared that the chant "kill the farmer" doesn’t amount to hate speech.
Ernst Roets, head of policy and action at AfriForum, said the ruling created a very dangerous precedent.
He said the “disturbing message” sent with this ruling was that it encouraged the gruesome killing of a certain group based on their identity and that the court deemed it acceptable.
"AfriForum works constantly with the victims of farm attacks, as well as the families of those killed in these horrific crimes,“ he said.
“We understand the pain and trauma that these victims and survivors have to live with.
“We are therefore deeply disappointed with today’s verdict… There is no place in society for songs that encourage the killing of people based on their identity.”
He said the ruling proved how the political system in South Africa was becoming radicalised, especially against minorities.
“A political system where the incitement and romanticisation of violence against minorities is sanctioned by the judiciary is not a free, democratic order, but an oppressive order.”
AfriForum said it would urgently engage their legal team to discuss the appeal of this ruling.
The song was earlier declared hate speech by the Human Rights Commission.
AfriForum wanted the court to bar Malema and his supporters from singing it.
However, the court found that AfriForum couldn’t provide sufficient evidence in court to prove that the song resulted in violence.
The court also found that the singing of the song did not incite farm murders of white people.
During the ruling, Judge Edwin Molahlehi said the song shouldn’t be taken literally, as Malema testified earlier in court.
During the trial, the organisation’s lawyer, Advocate Mark Oppenheimer, argued that Malema's testimony in February showed that he favoured violence and hated white people.
"The singing of ‘kill the boer’ amounts to inciting violence."
Malema testified earlier in court that the song should not be taken literally, as it is simply directed at the system of oppression.
According to Malema, the farmer is simply the face of land occupation.
The EFF welcomed the ruling.
“The court reaffirmed the submission by the commander in chief Julius Malema, that liberation songs should not be interpreted literally, but recognised as a critique of a system of oppression.
“The landmark judgment must be welcomed by all progressive forces as a victory against racists, who want to fly the Apartheid Flag and sing the song of torture known as Die Stem, in our national anthem,” read the party’s statement.