Split song

In a country, a judge has ruled that a song once sung by anti-apartheid activists as a rallying cry against the white minority regime unlawful.

Singing that song the judge said, could face charges of incitement to murder. The ruling has touched off a bitter racial debate in a country still grappling with its racist past.


But National Congress spokesman says the song is being taken out of context. He says it is about the fight against oppressive white minority rule or apartheid.

"At the time, — and it still means — kill apartheid," he says. "You could not make a difference between the system of apartheid and the community at the time."

some important pledged to go to the country's highest court to "protect and defend" the song as an integral part of their heritage of struggle for freedom and justice. Mthembu says the earlier judicial ruling was "incompetent."

some one says that while heritage is important, "it's unacceptable to try to justify a song in which the killing of a particular group is encouraged — to say that it must be seen in context and it's part of their heritage."