Racist slurs ignite SAHRC probe: ActionSA demands justice
Equality Laws
ActionSA has pressured the SAHRC for updates on the Open Chats Podcast, where allegedly “repugnant comments” were made against the Coloured community.
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IN a scathing condemnation of what it has described as “deplorable, racist utterances”, ActionSA this week welcomed the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) confirmation to investigate Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie’s inflammatory social media posts — with a prima facie finding that his remarks violate South Africa’s equality laws.
The party lodged a formal complaint after McKenzie allegedly used “hateful slurs from the apartheid era” and other “offensive references that served to degrade and dehumanise black South Africans”.
Now, with the SAHRC’s preliminary ruling backing their claims, ActionSA is demanding immediate consequences.
Alan Beesley, ActionSA Member of Parliament, minced no words: “We maintain that South Africa cannot have a sitting Cabinet Minister who holds such views, whether past or present, without being held to account.”
The SAHRC’s findings align squarely with ActionSA’s argument that McKenzie’s remarks breach the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (Equality Act). “Minister McKenzie’s remarks, as stated in their media release, constitute prima facie violations,” Beesley stressed, adding that the party would now await the Commission’s next steps.
But ActionSA is not stopping there. The party has also pressured the SAHRC for updates on another explosive case — the Open Chats Podcast, where allegedly “repugnant comments” were made against the Coloured community. “Racism must be confronted with consequences, no matter who the perpetrator is or their status in society,” Beesley declared.
McKenzie isn’t the only Cabinet member in ActionSA’s sights. The party has also lodged a complaint against Minister Dean Macpherson for what Beesley described as “deeply offensive and racially charged attacks on ActionSA supporters, in which he referred to them as ‘amaphara’ and ‘hobos’”.
“We are awaiting an update,” Beesley said, signalling that ActionSA is prepared to escalate its legal battles to root out what it sees as systemic racism within the highest levels of government.
At the heart of ActionSA’s crusade is a fierce commitment to non-racialism. “Non-racialism is a founding value of ActionSA, anchoring our belief in protecting the dignity of every South African,” Beesley said. “We call on the President (Cyril Ramaphosa) to uphold this principle in holding a member of his Cabinet to account.”
The party has even threatened to bypass the SAHRC entirely if necessary, warning that it is “fully prepared to independently institute proceedings at the Equality Court” should justice be delayed.
With the SAHRC’s investigation now confirmed, the pressure is mounting on McKenzie — and by extension, Ramaphosa’s administration — to act. “We cannot accept a scenario where a sitting Minister representing all South Africans has expressed such deeply concerning views,” Beesley said.
ActionSA is drawing a hard line. In their view, there’s “no place in South Africa” for racism, especially not in Cabinet.