Bono stirs up storm over ‘shoot the farmer’ song lyrics

HE is well-known for shooting from the hip, but Bono has caused a stir in South Africa by giving his support to the rendition of an anti-apartheid song that includes the lyrics “shoot the farmer”.

The song is at the centre of a politically charged controversy in South Africa, where the leader of the ruling party’s youth league is locked in a legal battle with a white lobby group over whether the song should be banned as hate speech.

The U2 frontman, who was in Johannesburg ahead of a concert last night for the band’s 360 Degrees tour, said in an interview with South Africa’s Sunday Times that struggle music like the “shoot the farmer” song has a place.