Cape Town - While the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is yet to decide on the fate of its acting chief executive, Chantal Kisson, who has been accused of racism after allegedly referring to black staff as “black babies”, the institution said it would “spare no effort” in getting to the bottom of the matter.
The Commission confirmed the incident, captured on camera after a person identified as Kisson referred to staff as “black babies” at an operational planning event on February 23.
“Senior managers have made allegations against the acting chief executive officer alleging that she referred to them as ‘black babies’ and the Commission is looking at the case,” SAHRC spokesperson Wisani Baloyi said.
The EFF described Kisson’s remarks as “racist” and called for her immediate resignation and an inquiry through Parliament.
Rhodes University senior lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Studies, Dr Mandisi Majavu, said the use of the phrase “black babies” to refer to black adults was “insensitive to the history of Black people in this country”.
“Insensitive because one of the oldest colonial tropes is the idea that Black people are ‘childlike’ and therefore in need of supervision and surveillance.
“That is one of the toxic ideologies that has been a driving force of South African history. So it's understandable that Ms Kisson’s Black colleagues are unhappy with her.
“Today generally speaking non-Black people in South Africa make light of the racism that Black people were subjected to in this country for most of the 20th century.
This is due to several factors: 1) it's partly due to wilful ignorance, 2) it's also partly due to the idea that says that ‘it wasn't all that bad’, 3) and lastly, some of it has to do with an uninterrogated worldview that is consistent with the racist portrayal of Black people.”
Majavu added the ANC government had no plan to deal with racism.
“The ANC government is failing where it's always failed when it comes to issues of race: the organisation simply doesn't know what to do with it.
“The ANC neither has the vocabulary nor the intellectual tools to talk about racism.
“Start by taking the history of Black people in this country seriously.
“Perhaps Ms Kisson is in need of re-education in these matters.”
Cape Times