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The Herald

ActionSA demands apology after Macpherson allegedly calls black people 'hobos'

ActionSA has expressed concern about DA KwaZulu-Natal chair Dean Macpherson after he allegedly referred to a group of black people as 'hobos' during recent court proceedings in Pietermaritzburg. The DA and ActionSA took the city to the Durban High Court over a sewage problem on Thursday and things turned sour between the two parties. According to IOL, Macpherson allegedly told a reporter that ActionSA provincial chairperson Zwakele Mncwango had denied calling the police to disperse 'hobos', which he claimed ActionSA had recruited to come to the court to pose as its members while picketing. In a letter written to Macpherson, Mncwango said using the word 'hobos' to refer to black people is 'deeply offensive and dehumanising'. 'Whether or not this term was used with racial intent, the impact of your words cannot be separated from the painful racial history of South Africa,' Mncwango said. 'Referring to a group of predominantly Black South Africans using a term historically associated with poverty, disposability and social worthlessness is not only deeply offensive, it is dehumanising. 'In a country still grappling with the scars of apartheid, where the dignity of black people was systematically stripped for decades, language like this is more than an insult — it's a racial affront.' He said it sends a message that black people can be reduced to derogatory labels when politically opposed. 'Even if you did not mean harm, the effect of your words and actions have caused real pain and reinforced racial hierarchies that many of us are fighting to dismantle. 'Dismissing ActionSA members — who are citizens, voters, and human beings — as hobos based on their appearance or political alignment is undignified, unacceptable and racist.' The party condemned Macpherson's conduct during the court proceedings, where he allegedly instructed black DA leaders to vacate their front-row seats for white and Indian members. Mncwango called on Macpherson to issue a public apology. Failure to do so would confirm that he accepted the label of being called a racist, Mncwango said. 'It is clear that you are obsessed with ActionSA and its leadership. While I do not mind your political fixation on the party, I will never accept racism against black people in any form, whether subtle or overt.' TimesLIVE