Racist Post Threatening Indians in South Africa Condemned by Province Premier

The premier of African province KwaZulu-Natal, Willies Mchunu, has criticized a post on the social media that targeted the Indian community in the  country.

The post has not only been condemned by Mchunu, but many others, who took to the social media to slam the comments made by Nkuleko Mkhize.

“We condemn the callous content of that posting in the strongest possible terms. Steps are underway to identify the perpetrator and do the necessary to prosecute the person or persons involved,” Mchunu said in a statement on June 1 , News 24 reported.

Mchunu added that a small destructive element should not be allowed to divide communities. “We also urge our citizens to desist from circulating divisive messages on social media. Fake news, in particular, serves only to destabilize our society. Across all our communities we must constantly work to deepen non-racialism, build unity and fight crime,” Mchunu said, the report added.

Mkhize has not been identified yet, though some Twitter users said that he is a student from Durban.

Mkhize said in his post on Facebook that Indians are not welcome in KwaZulu-Natal. He also referred to a recent incident in which a Sadia Sukhraj, nine-year-old Indian-origin girl, was killed in a botched hijacking attempt. “I think it is time to show Indians that they are not welcome here in KZN. A new day after Indians go back to India or we will kill them like that girl shot in Chatsworth,” read one of his Facebook posts.

Sukhraj was killed in the gunfire that ensued after an attempt was made to hijack the car in which she was travelling with her father, Shailendra. This sparked protests in Chatsworth in Durban  on May 28, and over 2,000 members of the Indian community gathered outside the police station to demand the arrest of the suspects. The police had to use teargas and rubber bullets to quell the demonstrations.

Mkhize’s posts were slammed by many on the social media. While some users urged people to find the perpetrator of the hateful posts, others called the posts shocking.

https://twitter.com/_Aqsa_A_/status/1002611684090023937

Many also said that Mkhize’s comments were hate speeches.

Indians in South Africa also reacted to the post, with one of them saying that he would file a case of criminal defamation, hate speech and inciting racism against Mkhize.