DA asks SAHRC to stop EFF’s racist march against Indians

4 August 2021

I have today written to the Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) asking him to intervene in the escalating race baiting and racial scapegoating in KwaZulu-Natal in the wake of the unrest and looting, and specifically to take action against the organisers of a planned EFF march on 5 August aimed at whipping up anti-Indian sentiment.

See letter attached.

What is evident from the material designed to promote what the EFF calls their “March to Phoenix Against Racist Indians” is that they are hoping to stir up racial tensions and inflame violence between black and Indian residents. This kind of destructive racial provocation is all the EFF offer in the way of political discourse, and it cannot be allowed to take hold.

As was the case in the build up to the looting and violence three weeks ago, starting with the gathering at Nkandla on the eve of former President Jacob Zuma’s arrest, it is clear that the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the province neither can nor will step in to prevent the threat of violence.

The vast majority of South Africans want nothing to do with this ANC factional battle, and they certainly do not want to get caught up in any violence. It is therefore imperative that this is stopped before it turns into a full-blown race war. I believe it is within the SAHRC’s mandate to step in and stop this march. And if they feel they do not have the power to do so by themselves they must seek an urgent interdict from the court.

Communities across KZN have already suffered tremendous trauma at the hands of criminals doing the bidding of ANC factions. They are hurt and vulnerable and they need the state’s protection against the instigators of racial violence. They certainly cannot become the scapegoats for what happened in the province, and they cannot become collateral damage in the EFF’s desperate quest for relevance.

Text of letter:

3 August 2021
Advocate Bongani Majola
Chairperson: South African Human Rights Commission
Private Bag X2700 HOUGHTON 2041

Dear Advocate Majola

Request SAHRC intervention to stop the EFF march that risks fueling a race war

I write to you as Leader of the Opposition of the Republic of South Africa to plead with you to investigate and, if necessary, step in and stop the dangerous race baiting, racial stereotyping and racial scapegoating that the EFF is engaging in in the wake of the KZN unrest. I believe this is strongly in the public interest because this kind of racial mobilisation risks descending into a fullblown race war at a time when the police have shown themselves to be either unable or unwilling to intervene timeously.

EFF in Ethekwini Region will march to Phoenix on Thursday, 05 August 2021, in protest against the racial killings of black people during the #PhoenixMassacre. We call for the immediate arrest of all those racist murderers and the confiscation of all illegal firearms in Phoenix. pic.twitter.com/NpukRKEwK8

— EFF eThekwini Region (@Ethekwini_EFF) August 2, 2021

The EFF’s planned “MARCH TO PHOENIX AGAINST RACIST INDIANS” on Thursday 5 August is racial baiting most likely intended to score political mileage from the chaos in KZN and to deflect attention from the real instigators and perpetrators of the violence and looting. The EFF thrives on racial division, and so it is very much in the party’s interest to fan the flames of localized incidents of racial tension where they exist.

This is the very last thing the traumatised communities of Phoenix need right now. The communities of Phoenix are extremely vulnerable right now and have already lost so many lives and livelihoods to the riots. They cannot be the sacrificial lambs in the EFF’s quest for political relevance in these KZN riots, which were not racially inspired. I urge the SAHRC to step in and stop this march, to protect the communities of Phoenix from the heightened risk of further violence in this time of heightened tension.

If that intervention is not within the SAHRC’s power to implement, then I urge the SAHRC to get an interdict from the court. It is, after all, the state’s role to protect people from violence and potential incitement of violence.

Thank you for considering my request.

Yours sincerely

John Steenhuisen MP

Leader of the Official Opposition

Parliament of RSA

Issued by John Steenhuisen, Leader of the Democratic Alliance, 4 August 2021