Pearl Thusi. Photo: Gallo Images / Frennie Sivambu
Former DA leader and Western Cape premier Helen Zille woke up on Thursday morning and decided to share her thoughts on the “good” that colonialism did for this country.
“For those claiming legacy of colonialism was only negative, think of our independent judiciary, transport infrastructure, piped water etc,” she shared with South Africans.
She used Singapore as an example, saying it had no natural resources, and 50 years ago it was poorer than most African countries. “Now, they soar,” she said.
She has been trending on Twitter since, with fellow South Africans sharing their own thoughts on colonialism. Presenter and actor Pearl Thusi was one of those who went on a rant of her own and gave “annoying” Zille a piece of her mind.
“Helen tell your people to give our land back before you try remind us how lucky we are that our ancestors were killed for hospitals. Tsek,” she said.
Did people have to die for those pipes? Thusi asked.
She further asked her if wine farms and land would be owned by the people who do now if they hadn’t “stolen” it from the people they found there.
“Because African heritage was savage and improper- yet our land is good enough. GO TO SINGAPORE THEN.”
She has since apologised for the tweet “that may have come across as a defence of colonialism. It was not”.
Following her comments, DA leader Mmusi Maimane says he has referred Zille to the party’s disciplinary structures for investigation.
This is how Twitter has responded:
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