In early December, Andile Mngxitama, the leader of a group called Black First Land First(BLF), calls for the murder of white people in South Africa. He speaks with vigor on a microphone to a large crowd in South Africa, “For every one black person that’s killed by a taxi driver, we’ll kill five white people.” He goes on, “We’ll kill the children. We’ll kill the women. We’ll kill their dogs. We’ll kill their cats…. We’ll kill anything that we find on our way.” The mainstream media was completely silent on this statement and video.
SABC Digital News interviewed Andile, prompting him to explain himself and defend his statements calling for the killing of “whites.” Andile explained his remarks were justified and in the defense of all black people. He called for the killings because of the remarks of Johan Rupert, who said in a prior interview, “One of the first tenants of business partners was the taxi association. So, also I have my own army with those guys. When those red guys come, they gotta go and remember the taxi association.” He was specifically talking about the EFF(Economic Freedom Fighters, a radical and militant emancipation movement), that if they were to threaten him, he has an army.
Andile claims the Black First Land First is one of Johan’s biggest opponents, and that the remarks about a private militia is a “big problem.” He states that, “BLF doesn’t want war, we don’t want the killing of anybody, but when you’re a white person of so much power, and you say that you have an army that you can unleash upon black people, then we have a big problem.”
He claims in the same interview that he knows people who have seen massacres because of white men causing black on black crimes.
Such a statement is most-likely out of touch and childish; to say black on black violence is caused by white men in power. More importantly though, how dangerous is that, to blame black on black crime on all White men in power? I do not disregard the gang-like taxi industry in South Africa, and that, perhaps, a few individual white men at the head of some companies have failed to take accountability for what the taxi industry has become…. But to say that every time a black person is killed, because of these turf wars, five white people should be murdered, is extremely dangerous. Right now he’s essentially saying that the answer to black on black violence, is black on white violence.
The ideas and rhetoric continue to froth from his mouth as he says, “Every black person is a member of BLF, some just don’t know it yet. Soon they realize the white system is against them, and they become a member.” When asked if all the oppression in South Africa was white on black, Andile answered, “Absolutely. Every problem we have, our exclusion, the townships, the violence, the fact that we’re poor… White people live the best lives as a consequence of oppressing black people.”
These beliefs are extremely dangerous, and his militant speeches have drawn quite a large, supportive crowd in Africa. It is human nature to pass blame, as to not find error in the self, but these beliefs, though untrue, are going to bring violent and oppressive action upon innocent white people in South Africa. There is no proof of enigmatic powerful white men in power, who are purposely causing Africans to murder other Africans.
Goldfire Media 