Racist rant man ‘sorry’
CAPETONIAN Matthew Theunissen broke his silence yesterday to apologise for his racist rant against the government on Facebook‚ saying it was “the biggest mistake I’ve made in my life”.
The 26-year-old master’s graduate from Stellenbosch University spoke to CapeTalk afternoon radio host John Maytham. “I have no excuse at all,” he said. “I just want to apologise. I am truly sorry for using hurtful language.”
His post went viral just days after Rhodes Must Fall activist Ntokozo Qwabe caused an outcry with a Facebook post about making a white waitress cry in Cape Town.
Theunissen lashed out at Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula for imposing a ban on SA Rugby‚ Cricket South Africa and Athletics SA hosting international tournaments due to their lack of transformation.
“So no more sporting events for South Africa ... I’ve never been more proud than to say our government are a bunch of k*****s ...
“Yes‚ I said it so go and f*** yourselves you black f***ing c***s‚” read the post on his Facebook page‚ which he deleted later.
Theunissen said he had made the post in anger.
“I didn’t intend to say those words and I will regret it for the rest of my life‚” he said.
Asked what had been going through his mind at the time‚ he said: “Sport is a massive passion of mine and I’ve also been looking for a job for the last year.
“With the current politics in the country, I haven’t been able to find employment.
“But besides that, the main thing that made me say those words‚ which I regret so dearly‚ is the fact that we aren’t allowed to hold international sporting events‚ a very big passion of mine. I was in an extremely‚ extremely bad mood and bad place and I immediately reacted by deleting the post.” He insisted he was not a racist. “I have plenty of friends of colour‚” he said.
His apology was met with scepticism by listeners, who continued to vent their anger against him on Twitter.
Theunissen said he would contact the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC)‚ which has been asked to investigate him for hate speech. “There is no running away from it‚” he said.
Cape Town mayor Patricia De Lille, who condemned the slurs as despicable, said she had referred the matter to the commission.
She said there was no place for racism in our society.
Her remarks form part of the city’s anti-racism Inclusive City Campaign.
“We are healing from the division and our painful past and we remain committed to fighting the scourge of racism and bringing about unity and inclusivity‚” she said.
The SAHRC confirmed that it had received a complaint about the alleged racist post on social media.
“There is one from the office of the Cape Town mayor and many other e-mail requests for us to launch an investigation,” SAHRC spokesman Isaac Mangena said.
Mbalula’s spokesman, Esethus Hasane‚ said when Mbalula released the report about sports transformation‚ it had received a lot of positive reaction.
“The minister believes such comments from Matthew take us backwards as a country,” Hasane said. “It’s unfortunate that some people think transformation is to divide people.
“This [transformation] is to unite all South Africans at national level and all sports codes must reflect society.”
In March‚ the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development launched a national action plan to combat racism.
“We pretended that we are okay, but now we realised we are not okay‚” department director-general Nonkululeko Sindane said at the launch in Cape Town.
A public consultation will be held in the coming months on the action plan‚ which aims to develop a comprehensive public policy against racial discrimination and other human rights issues such as xenophobia and intolerance.
There have been several incidents this year.
The year began with Durban estate agent Penny Sparrow describing blacks enjoying New Year’s Day on Durban beaches as “monkeys”.
A Port Elizabeth pizza delivery man‚ Omoefe Acboriyede‚ was also the target of a foul-mouthed‚ racial rant and a deliberate attempt to knock him off his motorbike.
Jabu Mahlangu, of the SA National Civic Organisation, also called for an investigation by the SAHRC.
“Such offensive racial outbursts not only undermine reconciliation‚ nation-building and social cohesion but are abhorrent‚ provocative and polarise racial relations‚” he said.
COPE joined the chorus of condemnation of Theunissen’s rant.
“It is inconceivable that a very highly educated young man should be so inwardly ignorant‚ perverted and repulsive‚” the party’s Dennis Bloem said.
