Outraged by the racist utterances of Magashule

15 April 2019

The outrageous utterances of Ace Magashule, ANC SG, in Phillipi on Saturday (13 April, 2019), inciting ANC supporters to exercise their vote in a racist way, is completely unacceptable. As far as we are concerned, these are the utterance of an individual and cannot be construed as the utterances of the ANC by any stretch of the imagination. The ANC Constitution is our lodestar. We are proud members of the ANC, “a non-racial and non-sexist and democratic liberation movement.” Our Constitution behoves us “to unite all the people of South Africa, Africans in particular, for the complete liberation of the country from all forms of discrimination and national oppression.”

The utterances by someone occupying the office of SG, exhorting masses of poor black people not to vote for “umlungu”, are utterly alien to the core principles and character of the ANC and its mission to build a nation free of prejudice, poverty and exploitation.

Employing racial tropes at an ANC election event is abhorrent and must be inconsistent with what the ANC stands for.

It saddens us to see that his conduct makes him indistinguishable from the racial nativists who have emerged during the years of state capture, those who cruelly exploit the hardships of our people through racial scapegoating to deflect attention from their own misdemeanours and criminal conduct.

His behaviour and utterances are completely at odds with the Freedom Charter and the constitution of the ANC.

We believe that we represent the views of all long serving veterans and members of the ANC, who hold fast to the legacies of Luthuli, Tambo and Mandela, and insist that we cannot standby while the office of the SG is soiled by such crass disregard of the core values, ethos and principles of the ANC. His words and actions do not represent us!

We call on the President of the ANC and the ANC Integrity Commission to URGENTLY act to prevent the further befouling of this high station once occupied by the likes of Sol Plaatje, Walter Sisulu and Kgalema Motlanthe.

Issued by Stalwarts of ANC, 15 April 2019