‘My post was hate speech, but I am not a racist’

KHEHLA Mngwengwe, who was found guilty of hate speech in the Equality Court in uMlazi last month, has apologised to the Indian community but maintains he is not a racist.

“I was never found guilty of being a racist but the court found that my post was hate speech,” Mngwengwe told the POST following his apology posted on Facebook last Thursday.

“That is why I was only ordered to make a public apology on social media. I was not ordered to attend training or community service with other race groups because I am not a racist.”

After the July 2021 unrest, Mngwengwe had been accused of posting a racist comment, inciting and threatening violence against Indians on social media.

In his post, he referred to Indians with the derogatory c **** e word.

His post prompted Narendh Ganesh, the leader of the National Independent Congress of South Africa (Nicsa), to lay a charge against Mngwengwe for promoting and perpetuating hate speech against the Indian community.

Mngwengwe was subsequently ordered by the Equality Court in uMlazi to make an apology within 30 days – by May 5.

In last Thursday’s post, he wrote: “I wish to unequivocally apologise to all South African Indians & South Africans, about my reply that I made on KAROU CHAROU’S LIVE SHOW in 2021. It was wrong of me to reply on social media with such hate speech that may have hurt the Indian community.

“I also thank the Indian community who stood by me from day one. I also thank the magistrate for taking into consideration the circumstances of the incident, as I was never found by the court of law to be a racist. I am truly apologising unconditionally. God bless South Africa.”

Reflecting on how he ended up posting what he had, Mngwengwe said he had come across a Facebook live feed, the content of which he described as “racist”.

“This was not a once-off thing. I nevertheless continued to listen but I never said anything. I did not respond impulsively. One day, in September 2021, it had become too much… That’s when I responded. I finally lost my patience and posted on social media.”

Mngwengwe, who was working as a team member assembling cars at Toyota in Durban, said he then found out that Ganesh had opened a case against him.

“I did not know who he (Ganesh) was. Then I began searching for him on social media. While researching on Facebook, I read one of his posts following a fifth house attack.

“He was referring to the robbers, when he wrote ‘Two black b ****** s (the filthy vermin of society) entered my home around 12.20pm after having jumped a wall…’.

“What’s strange is that I have been labelled as a ‘racist’ and taken to court but it was Ganesh's post that was racist. This emerged in (the Equality) court. The magistrate told him, that when he used those words it was fine but when I used them it was not fine.”

Mngwengwe said the case against him had “ruined my life”.

“I lost my job at Toyota in November 2021. I have two children, aged 11 and 14, and now do casual jobs like painting and gardening to support them. There have been repercussions for me, but no repercussions for others.”

He said he did not report or open cases for hate speech because he was not in a financial position to attend court proceedings and see the matter through.

Ganesh said any suggestion or insinuation, intended or otherwise, by Mngwengwe that he was racist was nothing more than sour grapes and retaliation with malicious intent.

“It must be dismissed with the contempt it deserves,” said Ganesh.“Having always called for cohesion between the races in South Africa, as evidenced by my statements in the media for decades, I can only say that this is a matter of the ‘hunter becoming the hunted’...

“As evidenced by court records, I offered Mngwengwe mediation prior to the commencement of the trial in the hope of reaching an amicable and reconciliatory end to this matter, short of a conviction. He simply refused, hence the matter proceeded to trial. Mngwengwe was found guilty of hate speech and not racism.”