Santa under fire: Mom calls out ‘Ho Ho Ho-rrible bias’ at Christmas event

Was Santa spreading holiday cheer or unintentionally spreading some cold vibes at a Christmas party in the small town of Gonubie, outside East London, in the Eastern Cape?

This is the lingering question on the minds of many parents after some complained that Santa’s alleged racist behaviour stole their children’s festive joy.

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‘White children got high fives’

A black mother of two, Busisiwe Jemsana-Mantashe, told The Citizen on Tuesday that she has written to the Human Rights Commission and the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation about the alleged racist actions by Santa Claus.

Jemsana-Mantashe said she witnessed black children being treated like they were “unimportant” at the community Christmas event on 24 December.

She complained that Santa spent more time paying attention to the white children than the black ones.

“Racism is subtle and not easy to spot these days, but for me, it was glaring that those children were not treated equally.

“Even when he did a walkabout, all the white children got high fives,” she said.

However, she said she raised this with Santa, whose real name is Louw Myburgh, after the event. Allegedly, he was apologetic about the incident.

“I do not want an apology for my feelings, but I want an apology for the preferential treatment that white children received.”

Jemsana-Mantashe said Myburgh only interacted with the black children when handing out their gifts.

“You could see that he is just uncomfortable, and I kept looking at the entire thing with an unsettled feeling,” she said.

Santa denies racism allegations

However, Myburgh told The Citizen on Tuesday that his actions were not racist at all.

He said the trouble started when Santa arrived with his decorated bakkie at the event.

However, the water tank he was towing behind his bakkie caused the vehicle to get stuck in the mud.

“I then got off and showed the driver how to put it in 4×4.”

While trying to get the bakkie unstuck, Jemsana-Mantashe’s child wanted some attention from Santa, which he didn’t receive. “My priority was to ensure everyone’s safety and not allow any children near the moving vehicle,” Myburgh said. “We asked the parents to keep their children back while we got the bakkie unstuck.

“However, the child whose mother had expressed her dissatisfaction and is now calling me a racist, was with me immediately, but I couldn’t pay attention to him right away.”

Myburg said he was involved in many community upliftment initiatives. “I built the [water tank] to put out fires in the community, regardless if the people affected are black or white.”

However, he says the altercation with Jemsana-Mantashe has damaged his reputation. According to Myburgh, he has also received several threatening messages, and people are even calling him a racist in town.

“It is all so unnecessary. We intended to spoil the children and put smiles on their faces.”

According to Myburgh, he is not angry with Jemsana-Mantashe. However, he regrets that a nice occasion has left people with a bitter taste in their mouths. “I used my Christmas bonus to decorate the bakkie and wanted to give the children a nice evening. However, a label has been put around my neck, and I must live with the stigma.”

Gonubie parents clash over Santa Clause confrontation

The incident has divided the town of Gonubie, with some parents feeling that Jemsana-Mantashe is exaggerating the situation.

However, some parents are siding with her and want Myburgh to apologise for his behaviour.

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