A new petition, with over 3,500 signatures calling for uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party MP Andile Mngxitama to be removed from Parliament for his call for the killing of whites, women, and children, has been launched.
Mngxitama was among the MKP members who were sworn-in as MPs in the National Assembly on Tuesday.
This comes after the MKP refused to attend the first sitting of Parliament last week.
The petition was started in response to an old video that went viral on social media and featured Mngxitama threatening to kill white people.
In the video, Mngxitama can be heard saying: “We will k*ll the whites, we kill the children, we kill the woman, we kill their dogs and cats, we k*ll anything that comes to us.”
The petition was started by Concerned Citizens on Charge.org, strongly opposing Mngxitama’s seat in Parliament.
According to Concerned Citizens, Mngxitama’s prior public declarations do not only encourage hate speech and racism, but more disturbingly, advocate for genocide.
“Such harmful rhetoric poses a grave threat to the cohesion of our diverse society.
“Andile Mngxitama's place in our country's leadership arena is a threat to the values of equality, justice, and reconciliation that South Africa has fought hard to foster. His radical stance, which instigates divisiveness, is not reflective of the ideals we hold dear as a nation,” the petition said.
The Concerned Citizens said it was distressing that such a controversial figure was even considered to be in Parliament.
“Having someone with such views in a powerful position such as this could have dire consequences, most notably a potential increase in racial tension and even violence,” it said.
They further urged Parliament to recognise the dangers associated with Mngxitama’s unsettling ideology and to reject his candidacy without hesitation.
Early this month, a similar issue of racism grabbed public attention after old videos of suspended DA MP Renaldo Gouws resurfaced.
In the videos, Gouws can be heard spewing hate speech against black South Africans. Petitions for both Gouws and Mngxitama to be dismissed from Parliament have been circulating.
Furthermore, the Concerned Citizens have called on the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to take action against Mngxitama for his actions.
“We call on the South African Human Rights Commission to challenge Andile Mngxitama's public remarks in the Constitutional Court,” the citizens said.
Meanwhile, there’s a counter-petition started by Umhlaba Wethu on Change.org to protect Mngxitama from what they describe as “persecution by racists”.
Umhlaba Wethu said this attack on Mngxitama was an example of how racists worldwide disregard black lives and undermine the efforts of any persons who pursue redress.
There’s also a campaign started by Matthew Dickson on BackaBuddy to raise funds to help Gouws fight legal battles against SAHRC.
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