EFF Councillor Set To Appear Before Equality Court over 'Tracy Zille' Racist Tweets

EFF Councillor Set To Appear Before Equality Court over 'Tracy Zille' Racist Tweets

  • Makhado local municipality and EFF councillor Anthony Matumba is set to appear before the Equality Court starting Tuesday
  • Matumba is accused of running a Twitter account under the name 'Tracey Zille' in which he made racist comments about black women
  • The South African Human Rights Commission stated that Matumba was also generating an income from the account

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MAKHADO- An EFF Makhado Local Municipality councillor named Anthony Matumba is set to appear before the Equality Court for racist comments he allegedly made under the Twitter account called 'Tracy Zille' starting Tuesday.

Matumba is accused of also spreading disparaging comments about black women as well as harassing black women on the social media platform according to TimesLIVE.

EFF Councillor, Equality Court, Tracy Zille Racist Tweets, Limpopo, Makhado
EFF councillor has been accused of spreading racists rhetorics about black women on Twitter under the handle 'Tracey Zille' and will appear before the Equality Court. Images: Twitter
Source: Getty Images

The Equality Court in Louis Trichardt in Limpopo has tabled the matter for the next three days.

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The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) flagged the 'Tracey Zille' Twitter account an individual made several complaints about the contents of the account. The account was created in June 2020 and had over 30 000 Twitter followers when it was brought to the attention of SAHRC.

The account made distinctions between black cultures and white cultures and some of the tweets were made to appear as though they were from a person's perspective.

According to Polokwane Review, Matumba had previously denied any affiliations with the Twitter account stating that although a website he owned was shared on the Twitter page, he had no control over who shares his website.

Matumba also stated that he had no reason to create a fake account to generate traffic to his website because he made use of Google Ads, however, the SAHRC stated that Matumba was actually generating income from the various posts it made through the links that were posted.

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EFF leader Julius Malema calls for an increase of R350 SDR grant, says it needs to be permanent

Briefly News recently reported that the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, Julius Malema, stated that the Social Relief of Distress Grant of R350 is a mere 'food parcel'. Malema stated that the party is keeping a close eye on the extension of the grant, which, he added, will be given out just before the government elections.

Malema explained his viewpoint that limiting the money to a certain time period is but another food parcel programme that has been set out by Government. The Red Berets leader stated that the grant should not only be made permanent but the amount needs to be increased.

The R350 which is being given out needs to be a respectable amount that has a meaningful impact, according to Malema. He also called for a basic income grant.

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According to TimesLIVE, the EFF was more concerned about the timing of the grant over the fact that it may impact the party's votes and performance at the upcoming municipal elections. The EFF was also one of the first political parties in the country to request a postponement of the local government elections.

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Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Lebogang Mashego avatar

Lebogang Mashego (Current Affairs HOD) Lebogang Mashego runs the Current Affairs desk. She joined the Briefly News team in 2021. She has 6 years of experience in the journalism field. Her journalism career started while studying at Rhodes University, where she worked for the Oppidan Press for 3 years. She worked as a lifestyle writer and editor at W24 and Opera News. She graduated with a BA degree majoring in Journalism and Media Studies in 2017. She's a recipient of the INMA Elevate Scholarship. Email: lebogang.mashego@briefly.co.za