It was probably not the first time that KZN police spokesperson Col Robert Netshiunda encountered backward ethnic bigotry in the land of King Misuzulu. His calm reaction to that uncultured protester—who suggested he was an outsider in his country—shows that he has dealt with citizens suffering from similar intellectual disabilities before. Like most prejudices, such utterances are often made in jest, which explains the disgusting laughter echoing in the background of that video.
Yet, what some dismiss as “jokes” are in fact dangerous seeds of division, and when left unchecked, they grow into normalised hatred. This is cringeworthy behaviour that all KZN people should discourage. Not a single citizen can claim ignorance of at least one tribalist idiot in their circle—whether at home, in the community, or at work.
These are the types who make silly jokes about “abantu” and “izilwane”. Bring a non-Zulu acquaintance into their presence, and they quip that the person’s language is “ukukwitiza” simply because they cannot speak isiZulu. Similar forms of hatred were recently displayed outside Addington Primary School in the Durban CBD, where a group protested for the placement of local children who have not attended class this year.
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These are children of flood victims displaced to the Point Road area. None of the schools around the CBD could accommodate them all, so they ended up at Addington Primary—the biggest and nearest. Their struggle was hijacked by a fascist movement known as March and March, led by a former radio personality and Jacob Zuma’s MK Party.
What began as a fight to secure school placements soon adopted an anti-migration tone, with the group blocking the entrance to interrogate pupils and parents about their nationality. Police had to intervene. It was a similar type of chaos that led to Netshiunda becoming the target of verbal abuse.
The incident revealed how quickly genuine community struggles can be twisted into platforms for xenophobia. The big question is: where were the leaders of society? Where was the MEC of education, Sipho Hlomuka, who has a background in student politics and could have handled the matter with respect and maturity?
Where was the leadership of the parties that make up the government of provincial unity? This unfortunate incident is a clear example of what happens in a leadership vacuum.
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