Hanging effigy of Lesufi condemned

SANCO: COMPARES ‘RACIST’ ACT TO KU KLUX KLAN ACTS

We do not view this as an attack on MEC, it is an attack on the African people – PAC.

Civil society groups yesterday condemned the hanging effigy of Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi in protest against a perceived attack on Afrikaans schools.

On Wednesday, Lesufi shared a picture on Twitter showing two white men holding an effigy of him, and then proceeding to hang it from a tree outside the offices of the department of basic education in Pretoria.

He said the incident was the latest in a series of attacks against him over his efforts to equalise education.

Yesterday, the SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) condemned the act, describing it as an act of extreme provocation that undermines the strides South Africa has made towards unity, reconciliation and nation-building.

“The resurgence of racism that mirrors the Ku Klux Klan, and its claim of institutions of learning represents a threat to our democracy and social cohesion,” Sanco spokesperson Jabu Mahlangu said.

He urged the police and the SA Human Rights Commission to investigate the incident and bring to book the two persons responsible.

Mahlangu said transformation of the education system will give meaning to freedom and democracy. “It must be deepened for children of all races to have access to quality public education.

“Those opposed to it have no place in an equal, nonracial, nonsexist, united and democratic society the overwhelming majority in our country are committed to build.”

He said that multilingualism in schools and other institutions of learning will ensure that all languages and cultures are respected and preserved.

The Pan African Congress of Azania said it is “disturbed and flabbergasted by the display of an effigy depicting Panyaza Lesufi being hanged”. “We do not, as the PAC, view this as an attack to comrade Lesufi, it’s a general attack on the majority of African people.”

The Afrikaans Language Council also expressed its disapproval, saying, “such threats are unacceptable and offensive, regardless of who the responsible parties may be”. – Citizen reporter & ANA