“It’s not meant to be a message that elicits or calls upon anyone to be killed,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters when asked about the chant used by some political leaders in his home nation, according to NDTV. “We are a country where freedom of expression is in the bedrock of our constitutional arrangements.”

Ramaphosa defended the controversial chant "kill the Boer, kill the farmer" after it came up during a meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Ramaphosa said it should be viewed in the context of the country’s anti-apartheid struggle and not as a literal call to violence, despite its precise wording calling for killing.

Trump raised the issue during a tense conversation with Ramaphosa, referencing video clips showing opposition leader Julius Malema using the chant before massive rallies. Trump questioned why Malema, a member of the National Assembly, had not been arrested.

Malema leads the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a radical leftist party that advocates for land expropriation without compensation. In the same video shown by Trump, Malema is also heard declaring, “We are going to occupy land, we require no permission.”

Trump has previously pointed to these issues to support claims of widespread violence against white farmers. The South African government has denied that such violence is part of any coordinated campaign.

Ramaphosa addressed concerns about land reform during the meeting, claiming that South Africa’s revised expropriation law includes a “nil compensation” clause. He said that would apply only under specific conditions, such as when landowners are untraceable, heavily indebted, or when the land is needed for public purposes. This means that land owned by private persons can be seized by government without compensation.

The revised legislation, according to Ramaphosa, ensures court oversight and aims to secure outcomes that are “just and equitable.”

Efforts to label the “Kill the Boer” chant as hate speech have persisted since the end of apartheid, but South African courts have allowed it to continue when used within historical or political contexts.