The complaint concerned the singing of an Umkhonto weSizwe song at a funeral 
which was used as background archive material to a news item where medals were awarded to President Mandela and Mr Walter Sisulu at the founding meeting of the Umkhonto weSizwe Veteran’s Association in December 1996.
The song or anthem included a reference to the killing of the “Ama-Bhulu”. There was a difference of opinion as to the meaning of “Ama-Bhulu” in this song. One view is that it refers to the system of Apartheid brought about by the Nationalist Government as from 1948. The song, according to this view, calls for a killing of the system. The other view, which is that of the Complainant, is that the word refers to white Afrikaners as the “Boerevolk” or at least to a section of the white Afrikaners.
The Commission accepted, without deciding the matter, in favour of the Complainant that the word has the latter meaning. However, this does not mean that the song then automatically amounts to an incitement to violence or the advocacy of hatred. The song or anthem was not sung in a strident or provocative manner and the historical context within which it was broadcast, casts the song within a sombre mould. Although the Commission accentuated the right of the public to be informed in an open democracy based on freedom, transparency, information, equality and dignity, it cautioned broadcasters to take care in this sensitive area.
In the present matter, however, the historical context as well as the sombre funeral atmosphere negated any finding of incitement to violence or the advocacy of hatred.
The complaint was dismissed.