DA leader Steenhuisen backs ‘divisive’ KZN election posters
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen and a group of supporters picketed outside Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand on Wednesday.
The party is unhappy with what it believes to be increasing water disruptions and shortages in Gauteng.
However, the conversation soon turned to the party’s election posters in Phoenix, north of Durban.
The posters in the area, which bore the brunt of some of the worst violence during the unrest in July, has the slogans ‘They called you racists, We call you heroes’ printed on them.
Some South Africans have slammed the posters as racially divisive.
But Steenhuisen stood his ground during a heated exchange with members of the media.
“I’m never going to apologise for calling ordinary South Africans, who stand up for law and order, who protect the rule of law and who are on the side of right. I’m never going to apologise for calling them heroes,” he said.
“They are heroes. Whether they be Black, White, Indian or Coloured. As we saw during those terrible days in KwaZulu-Natal, they are the heroes, because they stepped up when government stepped away.”
Steenhuisen denied allegations that the DA is exploiting racial tensions in the area.
“That’s not true, it’s simply not true, the heroes are Black, White, Indian and Coloured. South Africans who stood up for the rule of law. It’s a KZN campaign and KZN are running with that particular issue.”
