Radio ban in South Africa for black star's 'racist song'

A song that describes South Africa's Indian minority as oppressors of blacks has been banned, in a sign of renewed racial tensions.

The Broadcasting Complaints Commission ruled that Mbongeni Ngema's song promoted "hate speech" and demeaned the Indian community.

The commission had been asked to inquire into whether broadcasting the song, which has such lyrics as: "We need strong and brave men to face/confront Indians", amounted to an advocacy of hatred based on race and ethnicity, thus constituting an incitement to harm.

The commission's chairman, Professor Kobus van Rooyen, said it had been decided the song demeaned the Indian community by accusing it in sweeping generalisations of the oppression of black people in Kwazulu-Natal province.

The judgment came barely 24 hours after the President, Thabo Mbeki, was forced to condemn a slogan, "Kill the Boer, kill the farmer", chanted by members of his ruling African National Congress at the funeral of the party stalwart Peter Mokaba this week.

"Afrikaners and white farmers are as African as I am," Mr Mbeki said after a flurry of protests from opposition MPs and other whites, who have complained to the Human Rights Commission.

"Nobody, anywhere in our country, whoever they are, has a right to call for the killing of any South African, whatever the colour, race, ethnic origin, gender or health condition of the intended victims."

A defiant Ngema denied that his song promoted hate speech. "Is it a sin to write a song that highlights the plight of your own people in a manner that confronts the matter directly?

"In African tradition, to tell the truth in the breath of your angry brother is love. Therefore when others call my song hate speech, I call it love speech," he said.