Zimbabweans Lodge "Hate Speech" Criminal Complaint Against SA’s New Sports Minister
Zimbabwean immigrants residing in South Africa have filed a criminal complaint against the incoming Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, alleging “incitement of xenophobic violence, hate speech and intimidation.”
The complaint was submitted on Monday at the Sandton Police Station by Advocate Simba Chitando, acting on behalf of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit Holder Association (ZEPHA), according to a report by Money Web.
The complaint accuses McKenzie, who leads the Patriotic Alliance party, of inciting South African citizens to “murder vulnerable foreign nationals in hospital and, by implication, outside hospital”. It says:
McKenzie intentionally, for admitted political reasons, communicated his desire to harm foreign nationals receiving treatment in South African hospitals in a manner that could cause their death, in public broadcasts on national television.
The complaint adds that this violates the Prevention and Combatting of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act.
McKenzie’s 2022 threat to personally switch off foreign nationals’ oxygen machines in hospitals was widely quoted in the South African press.
The complaint cites remarks made by McKenzie shortly after a video of then-Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba went viral.
In the video, Ramathuba, now the Premier of Limpopo Province, is shown verbally confronting a Zimbabwean patient for seeking treatment in South Africa rather than staying in Zimbabwe.
Ramathuba claimed that foreign nationals were overburdening the healthcare system in Limpopo Province.
Speaking to eNCA later, McKenzie said:
If there is a South African, Zimbabwean and Mozambican patient on oxygen and I see a South African patient born and bred in SA, I will turn the oxygen off so that the South African can live.
In response, the Progressive Health Forum (PHF) called for criminal sanctions against those who incite violence.
PHF convener Dr Aslam Dasoo told News24 that the comments made by both Ramathuba and McKenzie amounted to the “language of ethnic cleansing and genocide.”
In its latest complaint, ZEPHA has urged the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the National Prosecuting Authority to take legal action against McKenzie over his alleged xenophobic hate speech and incitement to violence.
ZEPHA warned that failure to do so would constitute a breach of the United Nations Durban Declaration against racism and xenophobia, as well as violate South Africa’s domestic legislation and Constitution.
Responding to a recent TimesLIVE article by Chitando threatening McKenzie with prosecution – if not in SA then by the International Criminal Court, McKenzie wrote on X:
He (Chitando) is smart because he has very good reason to be concerned about my inclusion [in the cabinet]. I would rather walk away than forgetting [sic] my main mandate which is mass-deportation. Parliament will know our chant “Abahambe” (they must go).
In its complaint, ZEPHA has accused McKenzie, a former criminal-turned-politician, of violating the Intimidation Act through his hateful comments targeting Zimbabweans, which they allege amount to incitement to violence. It said in the complaint:
For the above reasons, there is overwhelming evidence that McKenzie MP is guilty of the criminal offences of incitement of violence, hate speech and intimidation, which are serious criminal offences,” reads the complaint.
I expect the SAPS and NPA to fulfil their connotational mandate and hold McKenzie accountable for his unlawful and criminal conduct, which could cause widespread xenophobic violence and the murder of foreign nationals in the Republic of South Africa.
Ahead of South Africa’s general elections held on May 29, 2024, McKenzie, the leader of the Patriotic Alliance (PA) party, took a hardline stance on the issue of illegal immigration.
McKenzie promised PA supporters that if the party came to power after the elections, all illegal foreign nationals would be deported back to their home countries.
He argued that illegal immigration negatively impacts South African citizens by affecting employment opportunities and other aspects of daily life.
The PA’s election manifesto stated that the party would utilize military personnel to assist the Department of Home Affairs in mass deportation efforts, to prevent deported illegal migrants from re-entering South Africa.
More: Pindula News
