Umkhonto we Sizwe Party (MKP) member Visvin Reddy has lodged a Human Rights Commission complaint against eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba over a controversial video.
In the footage, Xaba tells a South African Indian man who interrupted his speech to “shut up” and that he is only speaking to “Africans.”
The incident has sparked widespread criticism from the local Indian community.
Reddy said, “As a public representative, I took this matter straight to the South African Human Rights Commission and here, I’m not just demanding an apology, I’m asking the Commission to order the Mayor to pay a financial penalty of R30 000 out of his own pocket. I want that money to be split equally between three incredible organisations.” – Additional reporting by Taresh Harreeparshad.
PODCAST | Visvin Reddy lodges a complaint against Mayor Cyril Xaba over controversial viral video:
Meanwhile, the Office of the eThekwini Mayor says in a statement, published on the municipality’s website, that Xaba’s firm response during an oversight visit to address the prolonged and unlawful occupation of City spaces by foreign nationals “was necessitated by the flagrant disregard for both the rule of law and the basic decorum expected in any official civic interaction”.
“His remarks were directed specifically at those who chose to be disorderly and disrespectful, undermining the very process of finding a peaceful and lawful solution. The Mayor wishes to state categorically that any disrespect for the law and acceptable forms of respectable conduct and behaviour – by both South African citizens and foreign nationals – will not be tolerated.”
