As the Democratic Alliance (DA) began removing controversial posters in Phoenix, the site of civil unrest in July which left many people dead, KwaZulu-Natal chairperson, Dean Macpherson, apologised for the ‘hurt’ they caused.
The posters, one above the other, read: ‘The ANC called you racists’ and ‘The DA calls you heroes’.
News24 reported that Macpherson said the posters were not sanctioned by the DA’s leader, party structures or party campaign leadership.
He said: ‘In my sincere effort to honour the bravery and heroism of law-abiding citizens who were left to fend for themselves during the July riots and insurrections, the posters have regretfully caused hurt to some people. I am deeply sorry and apologise for this.’
Earlier, News24 reported that it was ‘understood top DA leaders in the province were kept in the dark … DA leaders in KwaZulu-Natal, including provincial leader François Rodgers, had no idea the party would put up controversial posters in Phoenix, north of Durban.’
The report said the posters were ‘at the centre of fury in the party on Wednesday evening when an urgent provincial executive committee meeting was called to discuss the matter. Calls were made by the party’s top brass in the province to remove the inflammatory election posters.’
The DA’s Johannesburg mayoral candidate, Mpho Phalatse, had also weighed in on the subject, telling the Sunday Times that the party should apologise and take the posters down.
Meanwhile, City Press reported that the ANC said it would be submitting a complaint to the SA Human Rights Commission.
The report quoted ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte as saying: ‘We have to because those posters stayed up for a very long time and it has created a lot of damage already in the minds of many people. It has created new anger that they had debated already.
‘This is what we must undo, and it has given the perception that racism is okay and vigilantism is okay. The message as resonated will not go away easily. So, taking the posters down is a good thing but we will go ahead with the Human Rights Commission complaint.’