Six South Africans who must learn more about the Day of Reconciliation

It has become one of South Africa’s proudest traditions: The Day of Reconciliation acknowledges the pain and the suffering our citizens of colour went through during the times of apartheid and colonialism, while imploring people to understand more about Mzansi’s chequered past.

It’s a day that encourages South Africans to get to grips with the more uncomfortable chapters of the history books. But, most importantly, the Day of Reconciliation just wants us all to get along. Regardless of race, ethnicity, background or social standing, Monday 17 December should be a day to celebrate our diversity and our differences.

Just don’t invite this mob along, please. If reconciliation really is about coming to terms with the suffering of others and accepting people for who they are, then these names aren’t welcome. We’re looking back at some of the now-infamous South Africans who became famous for their intolerance, and whose presence around the braai would be about as well received as crocs with socks.

Six South Africans who need re-educating ahead of the Day of Reconciliation:

Adam Catzavelos

If you thought his straw hat was dumb, wait until you hear what comes out his mouth. Catzavelos shocked Mzansi when footage of his holiday in Greece went viral, as he recorded a video message saying “there’s not a k***** in sight” from a beach.

The fallout was nuclear. He lost his business, received a ban from his children’s school and – to the best of our knowledge – decided to hole-up with family in Greece instead of facing the music back home. He issued a grovelling apology, but his actions suggest he’s only sorry that he got caught. Read a book please, Adam.

Velaphi Khumalo and, by default, Penny Sparrow

This former ANC employee damn-near lost his mind during the Penny Sparrow saga. When the former estate agent went on a rant calling black people at the beach “monkeys”, Khumalo went overboard in his disdain.

Sparrow’s comments saw him respond by calling for a “Hitler-style cleansing” of white people, saying that they should all be skinned alive. In October, he was found guilty of committing hate speech. If there’s one thing you cannot associate with the Day of Reconciliation, it’s endorsing the “eye-for-an-eye” brand of justice.

Vicki Momberg

The first person to be convicted for using racist language in South Africa, you say? We might have let Vicki off lightly here, but her behaviour during the entirety of 2018 suggests she’s someone who doesn’t buy into repentance or reconciliation.

Another former real estate employee, Momberg refused to accept responsibility for screaming the K-word 48 times at a black police officer who attempted to help her after a mugging. During her trial, she tried to reason why she used such language, before saying the video that implicated her was heavily edited. Pick a story, please.

If you add into that the report that she’s been badly behaved in prison – firing more insults towards the guards – and remember her best mate turned up at court to argue that “some of her best friends are black“, then there’s really no arguing about her place on this list.

Andile Mngxitama

In the spirit of reconciliation, can we actually apologise? Like every other media house, we report on the BLF occasionally. We try not to give them the oxygen they crave, but because the Mngxitama does the verbal equivalent of “shitting himself for attention” every week, they’ve become part of the national discourse.

Earlier this week, charges were filed against the hate speech-peddler when he threatened to “kill whites”, following Johann Rupert’s spat with the EFF. One of the most unrepentant, nasty figures on the periphery of South African politics does not deserve the limelight he gets. But all hate preachers deserve to be publicly shamed – it’s a tightrope up here, guys.

Sasha Martinengo

Perhaps not as vociferous as the other esteemed guest on this list, the former radio host still lost his head when he referred to Julius Malema as a “monkey” live on air a few months ago. Far from a slip of the tongue, Martinengo also had to distance himself from several racist colleagues six weeks beforehand. Judging by the company he keeps, reconciliation isn’t something he’d be in to.

Edward Zuma

This guy. Duduzane’s elder brother got himself into a mess after directing hateful comments towards then-Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom and the current Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan. In an open letter the 41-year-old described Gordhan as a “racist stooge for white monopoly capital”, and Hanekom was termed by Zuma as “an Afrikaner askari”.

Not a good look. He failed to apologise before the deadline imposed on him by the courts and the ANC, and now seems to have reneged on the R60 000 he was ordered to pay in damages. The money is meant to be going to needy schools, but a missing R30 000 hasn’t been paid to Ohlange High School.

It’s one thing to harbour prejudice and sound-off against your political opponents. But to effectively defraud a school you owe money to is a completely new level of low. Teddy Zuma, find the time to educate yourself about the Day of Reconciliation – you *might* learn something.