DA files MONC in eThekwini Speaker, and calls for SAHRC investigation into racial attack on councillor
The DA in KwaZulu-Natal today led a protest to call for non-racialism and unity in communities, after a DA Councillor was verbally attacked in a council meeting by a chant that many heard coming from the ANC benches, and for which the Speaker of Council continues to protect the offending Councillor.
The DA rejects this awful act of race-baiting against Councillor Yogis Govender, because we stand firmly for equality for all people, unity of our diverse cultures, the rejection of hate speech and the rejection of division and discrimination. These values that the DA holds dear are what will make us strong, united and successful as diverse people in South Africa, and the DA will always advance these values to bring South African society together.
The recent incident, where DA Councillor Yogis Govender was shouted at in Council to “Go back to Bombay” is not just an attack on one individual, but an affront to the entire Indian community and the values we hold dear as a nation. The DA rejects this divisive and hurtful attack, and there must be accountability for it.
To hold the Speaker of eThekwini to account for protecting the offending Councillor from a full investigation, the DA has now filed a motion of no confidence in the Speaker of council because no other method to get the Speaker to act has succeeded.
The DA has also referred the matter to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) for investigation.
This awful slur, shouted out in a Council meeting, against a councillor of Indian origin, was heard by many as coming from the ANC benches and yet one month later, the ANC have done nothing to identify the culprit.
We see the Speaker and all ANC councillors as complicit in protecting this person who made the derogatory, divisive, and discriminatory comments, and it is time for this protection to come to an end.
This incident is a stark reminder that there is no place for racism against anyone in South Africa. We must be united in our diversity, not divided by it.
South Africa must be a society where everyone is treated equally, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or background. This type of racial division has no place in eThekwini, in South Africa, or anywhere in the world.
