Actress Thandi Sebe has joined a growing chorus of South African artists condemning Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, for spreading Afrophobic hate speech.
In a recent post on Instagram, Sebe said: “As the South African Constitutional Court turns 30, we as South African artists call upon our leaders to protect the ideals of our beautiful constitution that guarantee the promise of a South Africa that belongs to all who live in it.
“We condemn the hateful vitriol that the Minister for Arts and Culture spews about foreign citizens living in this country. We unequivocally condemn his tirades and say: Not in Our Name.”
McKenzie came under fire following recent remarks targeting the employment of two Zimbabweans by the Market Theatre.
He is reported to have said: “some of you here have the audacity to hire foreigners instead of South Africans”; “I don’t care how you used to do it. But for as long as I am the minister, there will be no foreigner that will work in an entity while a South African can do the same thing”; and “foreigners” employed by government departments needed to be “out in three weeks… I said it, I want them out, get them out”.
Sebe went on to demand accountability from politicians, urging them to honour the constitution of the country.
Other artists participating in the condemnation included Rafeeqah Galant, Marc Lottering, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Mike van Graan, Tshamano Sebe, Rea Rangaka, Liza Scholtz, Lesedi Kolotsi, Matthew Griffiths, Ace Marcus, Liyema Duze, Mzu Ntantiso, Thandi Sebe, Rameez Cassiem, Danica Jones and Mihlali Kope.
