Afriforum supports Bono

Civil rights group Afriforum has come out in support of U2 star Bono's statement that it was stupid to sing struggle songs in the public.

"Bono says there is room for struggle songs and that it is stupid to sing these in public if it could offend others. That is actually the point that Afriforum has been trying to make," said its legal representative, Willie Spies, Beeld newspaper reported on Monday.

The Irishman and U2 frontman told the Sunday Times in an interview that there was nothing wrong with political songs, but not at public gatherings.

He asked the journalist if he was referring to African National Congress Youth League leader Julius Malema, who has landed in legal trouble for singing "shoot the boer".

The journalist confirmed that he was referring to Malema, to which Bono replied: "Interesting."

He said: "I was a kid and I'd sing songs I remember my uncles singing... rebel songs about the early days of the Irish Republican Army."

Bono then proceeded to sing one of the songs and its lyrics spoke of "carrying guns and readying them for action", the Sunday newspaper said.

"We sang this and it's fair to say it's folk music... as this was the struggle of some people that sang it over some time.

"But would you want to sing that in a certain community? It's pretty dumb," he said.

"Yet, it's about where and when you sing those songs. There's a rule for that kind of music," Bono said.

His statement caused Afrikaans singer Steve Hofmeyr to announce on the social networking site Twitter that he had dumped R5, 000 worth of U2 concert tickets for Sunday evening in Soweto in the Jukskei river.

"I have just dumped my R5, 000 worth of U2 tickets in the Jukskei. I'm going home. I can find no context for that song [shoot the boer]. Sorry&goodbye," read a tweet, at around 2PM on Hofmeyr's Twitter profile on Sunday.