Mkhwebane’s racial remarks draw attention of SAHRC, while EFF’s Thambo defends her
Mkhwebane’s racial remarks draw attention of SAHRC, while EFF’s Thambo defends her
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) took notice of EFF MP Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s racist attacks on the legal system and people of Indian descent, but Mkwhebane’s other EFF MP Sinawo Thambo publicly defended her and persisted in demeaning South Africans of Indian descent. The commission stated in a statement issued on Monday that it is keeping a close eye on the situation and that certain interest groups have plans to contact the commission. Social justice organizations, the judiciary, and academia “raised worries about the racial implications of the statement,” they added.
While the DA stated that it will be in compliance with the Ethics Committee of Parliament and the FF Plus with the Powers and Privileges Committee, the judiciary and Parliament denounced Mkhwebane’s comments. If Mkhwebane didn’t apologize to the country and take back her comments, the ANC stated it would support an appeal to the ethics committee and it would approach the SAHRC. The SAHRC indicated that it would “like emphasize to individuals that although the legal system is not above criticism, such critiques must be within the ambit of the law” .
Furthermore, the Constitution’s section 16 right to free speech must be used while taking into account both the internal constraints on that right and the rights of others. Accordingly, while everyone has a fundamental right to free speech under section 16 (1) of the Constitution, this right should not be extended to encouragement to harm through the promotion of hatred based on race, ethnicity, gender, or religion, as is the case with some social networking posts.