Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen is calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to speak out against Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema and the “party’s radical and dangerous vitriol”.

This after Malema sang ‘Kill the Boer’ during the EFF’s tenth-anniversary celebrations over the weekend, in Johannesburg.

In an open letter addressed to the President, Steenhusien urged Ramaphosa to advance the rights of all South Africans and ensure the well-being of the Republic.

“I urge you to be as courageous as those who came before you to speak out against the very same injustice and racial division which scars our country’s broken past. For if you are the first citizen of the nation, then you must set the example against hateful prejudice and violence, especially when used as a dangerous political tool in our free and fair democracy,” said Steenhuisen.

He emphasised that this was not the first time that Malema has incited anarchy and citizen-on-citizen violence.

“It is not the first time that he has called for a civil war and wanton bloodshed for political gain, and it will certainly not be the last. But given the tightrope that South Africa now walks between a nation in pursuit of peace and unity, and a people divided by hatred and intolerance, this must be the last time that you remain silent on Julius Malema and his vitriolic and fascist hatred for his fellow citizen,” Steenhuisen added.

South African-born tech billionaire Elon Musk also joined the fray and, in a post on X, he accused Malema of encouraging the genocide of white people. He also urged Ramaphosa to speak out.

Steenhuisen said the world was watching as Malema undid the South African dream with absolute impunity. He said South Africans now cowered away from each other, fearful of their fellow man.

“All because you refuse to call out and condemn those who dare to spit in the face of Nelson Mandela and the sacrifices he and many others made for the South Africa we all so desperately want to call our own,” he said.

Steenhuisen highlighted that the longer Malema used racial nationalism and Chavez-style rhetoric to pull South Africa apart, the more disgusted and dissuaded investors will become with South Africa and its economy.

He added that Ramaphosa’s continued silence on Malema as chief antagonist to the South African dream was deafening. 

“In the nearly five years since you took up office in 2019, your refusal to condemn Julius Malema’s repeated hateful utterances has shown our country what kind of man you are, and indeed what kind of President you are: one who seemingly condones racial division and hatred, and whose oath of office means little to nothing when the blood of innocent citizens is shed at the command of one man and his red cult,” he said. 

He said Ramaphosa’s failure to condemn Malema was an indictment on his responsibility and capacity to uphold the very foundations of the South African Constitution which he helped forge, and to which he had pledged unwavering allegiance.