Cape Town - Following the most recent online exposé of racism in South Africa – this time involving the Sodwana Bay Guest House’s refusal to accept black patrons – the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Thursday spoke out, castigating both the guesthouse owner and all others guilty of discrimination.
“I wish to use this opportunity to state again that racism, and its bedfellows – homophobia, sexism, and religious intolerance – have no place in our democratic society,” said DA leader Mmusi Maimane.
Read: Religious racist raises ire
“These incidents undermine and derail the difficult yet necessary project of building a fair and reconciled South Africa.”
Maimane was responding to news of Sodwana Bay Guest House owner André Slade’s admission his accommodation would no longer accept “blacks or government employees”. Slade – a self-proclaimed segregationist – was replying to a booking request for 12 people from a Sizakele Msimango.
Following Slade’s refusal, Msimango took to social media to make public the guesthouse’s bigoted policy. Soon after, over 5 000 users were discussing “Sodwana Bay Guest House” on Facebook while related tweets continued to be posted throughout the day.
Since, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has confirmed it will investigate the matter which Maimane welcomed, saying that should the SAHRC “act expeditiously”, it would “send a clear message to racists and those who engage in racist behaviour that their harmful and hateful actions are not welcome in South Africa”.
The Star newspaper also acted on Msimango’s posting on Thursday, calling Slade to hear his side of the story. With this opportunity, Slade confirmed his position on the matter, adding that the South African Constitution was “Satan’s law”.
Separate, later attempts to contact Slade and his colleagues were unsuccessful as all known numbers were unavailable.
Aside from his most recent racist rantings, Slade has previously spewed his views online, on his blog “wheretofromhere.org”. Here, Slade made mention of Maimane, calling him a “beast” and “little bastard”.
Slade has also released a free-to-download book, “Where to from here”, which was co-authored by Slade’s “equal opposite” Katarina Križáni, the guesthouse manager.
The Pretoria-born 52-year-old Slade and the 27-year-old Slovak Križáni are allegedly believers in – among other alternative systems – the Ancient Mesopotamian myth of Inanna and Enki which forms the basis of their thoughts on race and civilisation.
African News Agency