UMHLANGA ward councillor, Heinz de Boer, has slammed what he has called racist comments by Dawie Kriel on Facebook over Diwali celebrations. Kriel took to Facebook to register his distaste about the big bangs and fireworks over the weekend-long festival of light.
“Same story every year. Despite the outcry about crackers every year and in spite of the ban on the imports, Zuma still gives the Gupta’s and company license to import that shit by the container load. Profit profit profit,” he said.
He then went on to call Hindus ‘idol worshippers’ and ‘devil disciples who buy them in the name of religion’.
The Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal has now laid a charge of crimen injuria against Kriel at the Brighton Beach police station.
“This type of abhorrent language and racism has no place in this country. We are supposed to be a rainbow nation and this type of behaviour and social commentary is of serious concern. There’s no excuse for racial abuse and one would have thought people would have learnt their lessons from the Penny Sparrow saga. I regularly get emails with racial undertones and I call people out on it,” he said.
De Boer added he backed calls to criminalise racism. “I feel it can be a useful tool to deal with racist issues, however, not when it is open to abuse.
The DA also welcomed the decision by the South African Human Rights Commission to investigate the matter.
Kriel has since removed the racist post and apologised.
