ActionSA KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Chairperson Zwakele Mncwango has called on Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, to publicly apologise for remarks allegedly made during court proceedings in Pietermaritzburg, where Macpherson reportedly referred to over 500 Black ActionSA members as “hobos”.
This comes after the DA and ActionSA took the eThekwini Municipality to the Durban High Court over the city’s ongoing sewage crisis. The matter was heard in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday and Friday.
In a statement, Mncwango expressed deep concern and disappointment, stating that whether or not the term was used with racial intent, “the impact of your words cannot be separated from the painful racial history of South Africa.”
He criticised Macpherson for using such language, saying: ” Referring to a group of predominantly Black South Africans using a term historically associated with poverty, disposability, and social worthlessness is not only deeply offensive, it is dehumanizing,” he said.
Mncwango condemned the remarks as a “racial affront” that reinforces the racial hierarchies South Africa continues to dismantle.
He argued that when such language comes from a senior political figure, “it sends a disturbing message: that Black people, when politically opposed or inconvenient, can be reduced to derogatory labels and dismissed as less than equal.”
Mncwango also accused Macpherson of discriminatory behaviour during the court proceedings.
He alleged that Macpherson instructed Black Democratic Alliance (DA) members to give up their front-row seats in court to accommodate White and Indian party members.
“This visible relegation of your own Black colleagues raises serious questions about the racial attitudes and internal culture within your leadership style. Such actions are not only humiliating but reflective of a discriminatory mindset, which should have no place in any democratic or representative institution,” he said.
He has since demanded that Macpherson publicly apologise to the Black ActionSA members he referred to as “hobos,” to extend that apology to Black South Africans who ”saw in his remarks the reflection of historical wounds and systemic bias,” and to reflect seriously on his conduct during the court proceedings, particularly his treatment of Black DA members, and offer them a direct apology for the discrimination they experienced.
“Even if you did not mean harm, the effect of your words and actions have caused real pain and reinforced racial hierarchies that many of us are fighting to dismantle,” Mncwango said.
“Dismissing ActionSA members who are citizens, voters, and human beings as ‘hobos’ based on their appearance or political alignment is undignified, unacceptable, and racist.”
“It is clear that you are obsessed with ActionSA and its leadership. While I do not mind your political fixation on the party, I will never accept racism against black people in any form, whether subtle or overt.”
He warned that failure to apologise would confirm the perception that Macpherson accepts the label of being racist.
”South Africa’s democracy demands leaders who unite, not degrade; who uplift, not insult. I urge you to rise to the moment and demonstrate the humility, accountability, and leadership that your office demands,” he said.
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