Lesufi reacts to 'hanging': You are nothing!
Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi remained defiant after a group of Afrikaners visited his offices on Thursday.
The group hanged an effigy wearing a shirt bearing Lesufi's face from a tree in front of the offices.
"These morons came to our offices to 'hang' me! We defeated your racists grandparents, you are nothing!" was Lesufi's responds to the men, who are accusing him of "raping" Afrikaans.
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Lesufi has clashed with several Afrikaans groups over the department's language policy, most notably at Hoërskool Overvaal in Vereeniging.
The department lost a court battle against the school when it attempted to place 55 English-speaking children in the Afrikaans school.
The Gauteng African National Congress (ANC) also reacted with outrage, branding the group racist.
ALSO READ: High Court rules in favour of Hoërskool Overvaal
The ANC's Motlalatale Modibe says even though a precedent was set with the jail time handed to convicted racist Vicki Momberg "the message that came out of the ruling has not been heard loud and clear".
"Those who refuse to move away from the racial past that we coming from should face the full might of the law," he said.
The Gauteng Department of Education is awaiting the confirmation from the Constitutional Court after it petition the court to overturn the Hoërskool Overvaal judgement.
The Pretoria High Court ruled in January that the school does not have the capacity to admit 55 English-speaking learners in an Afrikaans medium school.