Bozell: Ramaphosa must condemn ‘Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer’ chant

US Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III says President Cyril Ramaphosa must condemn the “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” chant as an incitement to violence.

US Ambassador to South Africa Leo Brent Bozell says President Cyril Ramaphosa must condemn the “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” chant as an incitement to violence, despite the Constitutional Court having ruled that the song was not hate speech.

In an interview with SABC, Bozell said the United States’ position was that South Africa should condemn all incitements to violence, arguing that the issue remained one of the five outstanding demands Washington had put to the South African government.

“I understand what the court said. This doesn't mean the president can't say, look, any court in the United States makes a decision that the president can disagree with,” Bozell said.

“But it is the idea of inciting violence. The entire world sees that phrase as an incitement to violence.”

Bozell said Washington had asked Ramaphosa to condemn the chant and had not asked South Africa to disregard the courts.

“Our position, and we stated this to the president, is to denounce all incitements to violence,” he said.

“Find something the Boers have said and say the exact same thing about that song. We're talking about incitements to violence.”

His comments come amid deteriorating relations between South Africa and the United States, with Bozell saying he was disappointed that efforts to improve the relationship had not produced the results he expected.

He said the United States had presented South Africa with five “asks” in December 2025, covering the US refugee programme, expropriation without compensation, the “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer” chant, rural farm safety and economic participation by US companies.

According to Bozell, two of the issues had effectively been resolved, with the refugee programme no longer an issue and the expropriation matter now before the courts.

“We made these asks in December of 2025. Nine months later, South Africa still had not responded,” Bozell said.

“I visited with President Trump and with Secretary Rubio in Washington. They let me know unequivocally, they've run out of patience.”

Bozell said he had taken that message to Ramaphosa and told him that the US needed a response.