Cape Town - DA spokesperson on State Security Natasha Mazzone has defended statements she made in an interview this week that EFF supporters are “highly uneducated”, saying no insult or offence was intended.
Mazzone was speaking during an interview following an open letter, challenging EFF leader Julius Malema to a public debate, to discuss comments he made recently at an EFF gathering.
“I think that it’s very easy to be brave when you’re speaking in front of a crowd of your own supporters, because you know no one’s going to stand up to you and you’re going to act like the big man.
“And, you know, your supporters, unfortunately, are highly uneducated and you’ve given them a healthy meal to get them there in the first place.
And they are going to cheer you on and you’re going to think that you have a power that you actually don’t have. I think it’s about time someone stands up and told Julius Malema straight to his face that he is an obvious fraud," she said.
A clip of the interview has since gone viral.
I wonder if DA representatives rewatch their “hot takes” after an interview and think:
— Bianca van Wyk (@BiancavanWyk16) October 26, 2022
“ I said the quiet part out loud! I really have to do better in future to hide my prejudice or racism!” pic.twitter.com/VpiwK7KKjV
The EFF declined to comment on Thursday, saying it would “not respond to rubbish spewed by someone who was seeking relevance”.
Mazzone told the Cape Times she stood by everything she said in the interview.
“I had a full interview and all comments must be understood within the context of the full interview. It is a common occurrence that comments are cut so the bigger picture is not seen. I stand by everything I wrote in my open letter and of course, EFF supporters are going to take aim at me and spew hate at me, as always,” she said.
She said her statement that EFF supporters were “highly uneducated” did not intend to mean harm.
“No insult or offence was intended at all. We know that so many South Africans were denied a proper education and even today universal education eludes many in our country.
“We also do not equate a lack of political knowledge to a lack of education. People across the political spectrum have supporters that have been denied an education in the past,” she said.
Political analyst professor Sipho Seepe said Mazzone’s comment was “stupid and exhibits a rabid form of white supremacy”.
“There are a number of ways in which one can read this statement. What does being highly uneducated mean? Does it mean they can’t speak English? Does it mean they are not certificated? Is voting for the DA a sign of being educated? Is Mazzone highly educated? From the evidence that is publicly available, she wouldn’t fit the bill. In that regard she is referring to herself. It has been suggested that she may not even have a degree.
“Although a degree is not a mark of being educated, it does help. Many of the people that Mazzone is referring to may not have had the benefit of education, not because they are less smart than her, but because of the system of apartheid that disadvantaged black people in general and Africans in particular,” Seepe said.
Cape Times