MK Party MP Andile Mngxitama defends controversial remarks on farmer attack - IOL
MKP MP Andile Mngxitama is standing by remarks he made after an attack on a farmer.
uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party MP Andile Mngxitama has hit back at political parties seeking to report him to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) over his controversial response to the brutal attack on a North West farmer.
Defiant and unapologetic, Mngxitama insists his remarks were deliberately taken out of context, accusing his critics of selective outrage over crime and the treatment of black farmworkers.
"I won't apologise for something that they chose to take out of context. They have a selective outrage to crime in this country, and that's what they must explain instead. Our black farmworkers are facing daily abuse, yet there's no outrage and no justice. One white farmer is attacked and there is this mass hysteria and the suspects are arrested within days.
"When I said ears are symbolic for listening, I did not take away the horrible crime against the farmer, which we condemn. I meant it metaphorically that we need to listen to the cries of black farmworkers too, and the issue around land ownership, which remains unresolved," Mngxitama told IOL in an exclusive interview.
His response follows public outrage over an attack in which a North West farmer's ears were severed. Hours after the incident, Mngxitama took to social media, posting: "attacking the ears is symbolic to denote the refusal of land thieves to listen."
Although he later deleted the post, it had already gone viral, triggering a fierce backlash and prompting several political parties, including the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) to announce their intention to report him to the SAHRC and Parliament's ethics committee.
But Mngxitama remains unfazed, accusing his political opponents of being more concerned with protecting the interests of white farmers than addressing the plight of black farmworkers.
"Why are they not addressing the abuse of farmworkers? Have we forgotten how two farmworkers were killed and their bodies fed to pigs by a white farmer? We are still waiting for justice to be served. I don't see those same parties demanding justice. Instead, they choose to cry wolf and politicise the issue. They don't care what happens to black farmworkers," Mngxitama added.
However, FF Plus chief whip Heloise Denner has clapped back, dismissing his claims that the controversial remarks were taken out of context, calling it as a desperate attempt to deflect criticism.
"There is absolutely no context that can justify Andile Mngxitama's statement. His claim that his words were taken out of context is a pathetic and desperate deflection. As a Member of Parliament, Mngxitama took an oath to uphold this Constitution and put the interests of all South Africans above his own, meaning his post is entirely unjustifiable. The FF Plus has always advocated for the equal treatment and protection of all citizens, and trying to disguise blatant hate speech and the justification of torture as 'context' is completely unacceptable," Denner told IOL.
