Political parties lambaste Kriel, say racist comments weren't a mistake

Political parties lambaste Kriel, say racist comments weren't a mistake

Political parties in the province are not happy that the case against a Dawie Kriel has been moved to the end of January.

Dawie Kriel court
Nushera Soodyal


Kriel appeared briefly in the Durban Magistrate's Court yesterday on charges of crimen injuria - in connection with a racist rant against the Hindu community on Facebook.


ALSO READ: Political parties call for harsher penalties pertaining to racism



The case was postponed as Kriel changed his legal representation. 


ANC spokesperson for KZN, Mdumiseni Ntuli, says Kriel's crime is profound.


"He is obviously a very old man. We know it could not have been a mistake. He has lived in the South Africa that was racially divided, when racism dominated the discourse in our country, and also defined the power relations - including at an economic level. So he is aware of all of those things," he said.


ALSO READ: Racist comments about Hindus, Diwali won't be tolerated: Hindu Maha Sabha


Meanwhile, DA leader in KZN, Zwakele Mncwango, says he hopes the change of representation is not a delaying tactic.


"All South Africans must know that we buried racism in 1994. There is no space for racism anymore; we will keep fighting for that," he said.


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