Bono's singing the wrong tune

Bono, the front man for U2, is almost as famous today for his dabbling in international affairs and issues as he is for his singing.

The Irish rock star has been nominated for a Nobel Prize for Peace for his work in raising third world issues to centre stage. He is as comfortable mingling at the United Nations as he is jostling with sound engineers on the set of his band's 360 Degrees Tour.

Indeed, during the dark years of apartheid, U2 was one of a group of bands that worked and produced an anti-apartheid album.

The reality, though, is that those dark days are long gone. Bono has issued support for Julius Malema, the firebrand leader of the youth wing of the African National Congress, who has taken to singing Shoot the Boer at its rallies.

Such nationalist and racist sentiments are not helpful now; Malema needs to move on.

So does Bono.