Cape Town - DA Cederberg Municipality speaker John Hayes has landed himself in hot water for sharing a picture likening EFF supporters to baboons ahead of the party’s march on Monday.
The Human Rights Commission has confirmed that it has launched an investigation after receiving a complaint over the matter.
The picture with the words “be careful... the EFF strike started. Looting trend in SA” has since been removed from his Facebook page.
SAHRC commissioner André Gaum said the incident was being dealt with by their provincial department.
“During our divisive past, these words were used to refer to black people in a derogatory and racist manner.
Our courts have been clear that the use of such words today amounts to hate speech,” he said.
DA provincial leader Tertuis Simmers said the post was removed after the party’s West Region leadership was alerted to it. He confirmed that the matter was also referred to the Federal Legal Commission, as per the party’s due processes.
“Further action will be considered after the investigation has been concluded,” said Simmers.
Community activist and Rural and Farmworkers Development Organisation executive director Billy Claasen, who lodged the complaint, described the images as utterly racist.
“This post referred to EFF members as baboons. Councilor John Hayes should have known better in this regard; he is the 1st citizen of a tourism hub town and a medical doctor and therefore needed to be careful on what he shared on social media. We live in a very fragile society and cannot condone this,” he wrote.
Hayes told the Cape Times that he was shocked by the reaction to the video and apologised if he offended anyone.
“I am not a racist. I have people who can vouch for that; you can ask anybody. I just shared a funny little video, that’s all. I was sharing the video for humour. I am a humoristic guy. I am a practical joker. I never thought of the video as a racist. I was ignorant. But I had no intentions of hurting people. I removed the video and I apologised if it had offended anyone,” he said.
“I feel ashamed for my fellow human beings and I feel as South Africans we should change the way we look at people. Not everything is racial. Even when I shared the video I never thought about race. People want to call me a racist over sharing a funny video. I am so disgusted by that and my trust in humanity is gone.
“I am a community worker, I run a community feeding scheme where we provide food to needy children, no matter what colour. My whole salary goes to all of that. I also won the by-election with a majority non-white voters because people believed in me. I don’t see colour, I see people. If I was racist I wouldn’t care about these things. I ask, if you look at a baboon do you see a black man, they say no and to that I say neither do I? I had no intention of hurting people when I shared the video,” he said.
The municipality did not respond by deadline.
The EFF has called for Hayes to step down with immediate effect, for his “dehumanising and degrading” racist post.
EFF provincial chairperson Unathi Ntame said: “We are not surprised by the hardcore racism displayed by the speaker of the Cederberg Municipality who is also a member of the DA. We are not surprised because this is exactly what the DA-led administration thinks of black people in the Western Cape.
Hayes could not hold back his disgusting racism, but decided to spew it in public with an intention to provoke black people and cause psychological harm to all those blacks who participated in the peaceful protest march on 20 March.”
He said Hayes’ conduct caused crimen injuria in a deliberate attempt to undermine the dignity of black people.
“Not only this, but he has also broken his oath of office, code of ethics, municipal social media policy, thus bringing his office into disrepute. Furthermore, he has reduced the office he occupies into being the subject of a racial controversy that has now angered and provoked many residents across the province and beyond. As a government official, he knew the consequences of his action, thus must be held accountable for his irresponsible and reckless behaviour,” he said.
Cape Times