Quinton Mtyala
THE Gauteng government employee who called on black South Africans to murder white people, similar to the Nazi genocide of Jews, faces dismissal from his job.
Yesterday, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation also condemned Velaphi “Vel hova” Khumalo’s Facebook comments, saying there was no place for racists within the public service, and his posts were clearly hate speech.
On Monday, following the outrage over KwaZulu-Natal estate agent Penny Sparrow’s racist comments about black beachgoers on Facebook, Khumalo poured fuel onto the flames in his own posting on the social network, saying: “I want to cleanse this country of all white people. We must act as Hitler did to the Jews.
“I don’t believe that there is a large number of not so racist white people. I’m starting to be sceptical of even those within our Movement the ANC.
“I will from today unfriend all white people I have as friends from today u must be put under the same blanket as any other racist white because secretly you are all a bunch of racist f*** heads. as we already seen (sic).”
In a second post, Khumalo said white people deserved to be hacked and killed like Jews.
“U you have the same venom moss. look at Palestine. noo u must be bushed alive and skinned and your off springs used as garden fertiliser.”
Amid the condemnation on social media, Khumalo had gone to ground and deleted his Facebook page.
Gauteng Department of Arts, Culture and Sports spokesperson Nomazwe Ntlokwana confirmed last night that Khumalo, employed as a sports promotion officer at the department, would face disciplinary action.
“We have initiated a formal disciplinary process. By tomorrow (Friday) we’ll make an announcement,” she said .
The racist remarks were his personal views and the department did not condone such “hateful and disturbing racial slurs”, she added.
“The Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation views the hateful post by Velaphi Khumalo in a serious light. Our key mandate is nation-building and social cohesion.
“His sentiments take our country backwards and do not reflect what the Gauteng government stands for.”
which guides employees on social media conduct.
The SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) have also condemned Khumalo’s Facebook posting, saying that racism could not be fought with racism. It would lodge |a complaint with the SA Human Rights Commission.
“The SAJBD appeals for all South Africans to desist from fanning racial sentiments and work together to build an inclusive nation true to the values of equality and freedom enshrined in our constitution,” said its director, Wendy Kahn.
Earlier this week, the ANC indicated that it would lodge crimen injuria complaints against those who used social media to “promote racism”.
Ahmed Kathrada Foundation’s director, Neeshan Balton, said it was outrageous that Khumalo would invoke the horrors of the Holocaust, saying that it was clearly |a case of hate speech.
“Although the comments were posted on Khumalo’s Facebook page, he is an employee of Gauteng.
“Public servants are meant to serve everyone, irrespective of race. If Khumalo believes that white people should be ‘cleansed’ from South Africa, then he clearly should not be working as |a public servant..
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