ANC calls another DA MP racist
After launching a court application accusing Democratic Alliance MP Dianne Kohler Barnard of hate speech, the ANC on Friday said it was mulling action against fellow DA MP Anchen Dreyer for attending an event celebrating Transvaal Republic president Paul Kruger.
ANC chief whip Stone Sizani said Dreyer did not deserve to hold a seat in Parliament because of her presence at a function staged by trade union Solidarity on October 10 — a date known which was known as “Kruger Day” during the apartheid era.
“Not only did Dreyer partake in the commemoration of Paul Kruger, she even addressed the event on behalf of the DA and also posed for a picture next to the cardboard cut-out of her hero Paul Kruger, with a hand-held placard written: “Lekker verjaar Oom Paul!!” (Happy birthday Uncle Paul!!),” Sizani’s office said.
“This once again confirms the view held by many South Africans that the DA, whose origins are rooted in apartheid, continues to be a sanctuary of hard-core racists that unashamedly perpetuate racism and promote apartheid.”
DA spokeswoman Phumzile van Damme said Sizani was trying to divert attention from the ruling party’s failings at local government level, ahead of municipal polls later this year.
“This is a cheap election ploy to distract attention away from its record at local government,” Van Damme told ANA.
“The DA is not a racist party.”
The ANC issued a raft of statements this week branding the DA racist, starting with missives from Sizani and ANC spokesman in chief Zizi Kodwa on Monday in which they described the erection of a billboard bearing the slogan “Zuma Must Fall” in Cape Town as racist and suggested it was put up with the support of the DA, which holds political control of the city.
The sign was torn down by angry ANC supporters last Saturday and the city council has pressed charges against the signage company who rents out the billboard space.
On Monday, DA leader Mmusi Maimane in a speech at the Apartheid Museum said his party had no place for racists.
But Sizani described this as “cheap theatrics” and said anybody who celebrated Kruger was racist.
“The DA MP’s unashamed glorification and admiration of such a reprehensible figure is a tacit endorsement of the heinous crimes against humanity he perpetuated against black South Africans. Anyone who regards Kruger as a hero is also a racist who shares all that he stood for, including a belief that blacks are inferior savages who deserve the untold suffering they endured for many years under colonialism and apartheid.”
He added: “Dreyer, who like Kohler-Barnard is racist and an apartheid apologist, has no place in this Parliament or our society. We will consider which necessary steps to take to ensure recourse regarding her disturbing conduct.”
The Solidarity event held in Centurion last October was billed as a “toekomsberaad” (summit on the future) to protect Afrikaans culture.
Kohler-Barnard successfully appealed a decision by the DA last year to expel her from the party after she shared a Facebook post calling for the return of apartheid prime minister PW Botha. - ANA
(File photo: Gallo Images)