DA KZN Slams Racial Slur Against Councillor As Attack on Indian Community
- The Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal slammed a verbal attack by a councillor in the eThekwini Municipality
- The incident reportedly took place recently when a councillor told an Indian councillor to go back to Bombay
- the DA said the slur was an attack on the Indian community, condemned the incident and said it would act against the Council Speaker
- The councillor who was insulted spoke to Briefly News
With over seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News, Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist, offered insights into South African politics, national, provincial and local governance, the Government of National Unity, political parties and Parliament.
Source: Getty Images
DURBAN, KZN — The Democratic Alliance described an eThekwini councillor's verbal attack against another councillor as racial.
An attack against Indians: DA
According to SABC News, the DA in the KwaZuliu-Natal province condemned an incident in eThekwini's council meeting last week. A councillor verbally attacked DA councillor and Chief Whip Yogis Govender and told him to "Go back to Bombay." This was during a debate about constructing a monument to celebrate Indian workers arriving in SA in 1860.
PAY ATTENTION: stay informed and follow us on Google News!
The DA's provincial deputy leader, Sthembiso Ngema, said the statements highlighted deep-seated racism that is prevalent among politicians. He said that undermining the Indian community in the country is unacceptable. He said the party would seek to act against the speaker for failing to protect others from racism in the eThekwini's council.
Councillor confirms incident with Briefly News
Yogis Govender, the DA's PR Councillor in eThekwini and the victim of the slur confirmed with Briefly News that it happened.
She said that the Speaker of the Council is expected to deliver a report on the incident on 2 December 2024.
"It seems the investigation has gone nowhere," she said.
SA weighs in
Netizens on Facebook shared their opinion on the verbal attack.
Sydney Kumalo said:
"The slur could be a reflection of the kind of community they live in. There are many culprits and the highlights should perhaps be taken for further constructive investigation."
Pravdsh Singh said:
"Just give the middle finger and move on."
Christine Jurgrns said:
"That's disgusting. Have respect for all the people."
Linda Qayi said:
"Why do they ignore the people?"
Olympic medalist accused of racism
In a related article, Briefly News reported that Olympic silver medalist Jo-Ane van Dyk was accused of racism while at university.
A South African woman claimed that van Dyk insisted that only Afrikaans should be spoken at an Afrikaans university.
Source: Briefly News
