SAHRC ‘will consider’ probe into Zindzi Mandela tweets
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) says the history of Zindzi Mandela and her family needs to be taken into account during any investigation into her tweets on land reform.
Mandela, who is the daughter of struggle icons Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, set Twitter ablaze last month with tweets about “white cowards and shivering land thieves".
Lobby group AfriForum has now laid a complaint of hate speech Mandela, who is also South Africa’s ambassador to Denmark, branding the tweets as “extremely divisive and racist”.
The commission’s deputy chair Priscilla Jana confirmed that it will look into the matter as soon as a formal complaint has been laid.
"We should have particular respect and understanding of the political situation, but one has also got to look at the context of Zinzi's history. There is a lot of mitigating factors, she's a diplomat representing South Africa, she should be careful of what she says but one cannot totally ignore her own personal victory and her subjective views.”
AfriForum's Alana Bailey says they decided to approach the commission due to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s refusal to take steps against Mandela.
"It now appears that her term as an ambassador has, for the time being, been extended to December 2019 and that no further disciplinary steps will be taken against her by her employer," says Bailey.