School principal white people

The principal at Barkley East High School has come under fire for a recent Facebook post – Image: Pixabay

SA school principal apologises for ‘derogatory remarks’ about white people

There’s been a big public outcry in Barkley East, after a local high school principal made ‘racially insensitive remarks’ about white people.

School principal white people

The principal at Barkley East High School has come under fire for a recent Facebook post – Image: Pixabay

A school principal from the Eastern Cape is subject to a disciplinary hearing this week, after he made a controversial statement about white people in South Africa. The senior representative of Barkley East High School has since issued an apology about his offending Facebook post.

School principal in hot water for comments about white people

Samthini Duna suggested that ‘white racists’ must be chased back to Europe, referencing Rwanda’s policy on Chinese migrants. The post received a significant amount of backlash, and parents were unhappy that a school principal would publicly express such forthright views.

Here’s what Duna wrote on his social media page:

“Some stupid white racists will never change and it does not matter how educated they are. I wish we could have a shrewd and firm leader like Paul Kagame. Someone who would let these nuisances rot in jail or chase them back to Europe like he did to the Chinese.”

Samthini Duma on Facebook

Eastern Cape authorities ‘set to investigate’ matter

Despite Duna’s double-quick apology, The Provincial Department of Basic Education in the Eastern Cape has indicated that it will take disciplinary action pending their own investigation. AfriForum, meanwhile, remain outraged by the school principal’s outburst.

Natasha Venter is the lobby group’s Adviser for Education Rights. She believes that Duna failed to lead by example, and AfriForum have stated that the post ‘threatens to incite racial hatred’. Venter, however, has acknowledged the school principal’s apology:

“This post was made in front of anyone who has access to Duna’s Facebook page – including learners at the school. As a school principal, he was supposed to set an example, but rather he chose to incite racial hatred by making this post.” 

“We hope that Duna really learned from this incident and will choose not to really judge people on the color of their skin in the future – as he indicated he would no longer do so in his apology letter.”

AfriForum’s Natasha Venter