Durban – THE ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has slammed the DA for putting up election posters with a “racial slur”, that could lead to further racial polarisation in the province.
The posters from the DA were put up in Phoenix and they have outraged some who claim that the posters are praising the killing of 36 black South Africans during the unrest of July this year.
The killing was allegedly carried out by vigilante groups that were hurriedly formed when the violence and looting started.
At the present moment, 52 people are facing prosecution for their role.
The ANC in KZN said the posters that say: “The ANC called you racists” and “The DA calls you heroes” are insensitive and aimed at pitting people of the province against each other.
On Tuesday, the party said the posters in Phoenix were shameful and fascist in nature.
It added that sadly, the DA promotes and supports the heinous murders committed by few racists in Phoenix during the violent protests.
“The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has called on the citizens of the province to ensure that it does not become a safe haven for apartheid apologists and racists.
“The ANC calls peace-loving citizens to ensure that all efforts are employed to reject the DA that wants to turn this province into the epicentre of racism.
“The disgusting act of the DA to pit people against each other using its election posters erected in the Phoenix area on the north of Durban shows that this party has no respect for human life,” it said.
But the provincial chairperson of the DA, Dean Macpherson, differed and said there was nothing racist about the posters as all the messages on them were factual.
He said they were preparing to put up more posters with the same message across the province and the reason why they started in Phoenix was that they, “have to start somewhere”.
“There is nothing untrue about the statements… the ANC has been going around calling people racists,” Macpherson said when asked whether the message is not going to inflame racial tensions in a suburb that is already on edge.
He stressed that the heroes they are referring are not about a certain race group but about everyone who stood up and defended his property.
Macpherson said: “If you defended your home, your business, you are a hero.
“Even President (Cyril Ramaphosa) said that.”