Official threatens to beat up white drivers
Spokesman says motorist called him a moron and stupid
AN Eastern Cape government spokesman took to Facebook at the weekend, threatening to smack the “s**t” out of white drivers.
Recently appointed Roads and Public Works Department spokesman Mphumzi Zuzile defended the post yesterday, saying it was done during a fit of road rage.
Zuzile, a former journalist, posted on Saturday: “Call me a racist but one day I’m gonna get out of my car and smack the s**t out of these bloody white drivers who think they know the rules of the road better than anyone else ... I’ve had enough of their insults on the road.”
Asked whether the post was appropriate conduct for a government spokesman, Zuzile said he wrote the post in his personal capacity on his personal wall.
He said there were no rules on what he could and could not do in his personal capacity.
Zuzile said the incident that sparked his outrage was when a driver in East London swore at him and called him a moron and bloody stupid when he pulled in front of him.
“The other day it was outside the video shop. This guy parked me in and refused to move his car until I pulled out an iron rod and his wife screamed and moved the car,” he later posted.
Among the comments on Zuzile’s post was one by fellow provincial spokesman Andile Nduna, who is a communications manager at the Eastern Cape Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture Department.
Nduna said: “Please call me to join you when you do ... Or whoever does it first must call the other!”
Asked for comment yesterday, Nduna said wrote the comment in his personal capacity.
Roads and Public Works MEC Thandiswa Marawu could not be reached for comment.
Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture MEC Pemmy Majodina said she was not aware of the post.
Majodina said she was not on Facebook because she did not subscribe to the ethics of the social media site.
Social media expert Sam Posselt, from Horizon Brands, said the law had changed regarding social media.
“Everything you post online nowadays can and will be held against you, particularly from an employer’s point of view.
“As a spokesperson or employee of a company, you enter into an agreement with your employer,” Posselt said.