Simelane will continue to 'raise issues'
2011-09-06 22:45
Johannesburg - National Director of Public Prosecutions Menzi Simelane will continue to raise issues that reflect society, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.
"Racism is one of those issues that he strongly feels the whole country should debate in an endeavour to eradicate it," Mthunzi Mhaga said in a statement.
"Robust debate on such hard issues is an ingredient of a live and thriving democracy and this is a right that is enshrined in our Constitution."
The SA Institute of Race Relations recently laid a complaint of racism with the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) about comments made by Simelane in the Sunday Times. The institute said Simelane's comments could incite racial hatred and unfairly discriminated against whites.
SAIRR deputy CEO Frans Cronje asked the commission to investigate the comments and secure appropriate redress.
The Sunday Times quoted Simelane as saying it was a fact that in all, if not most, of "these crimes", blacks were the victims.
"It is also a fact that the perpetrators are mostly white men. Our courts are full of people like these."
He called for the introduction of race crime legislation and greater policing of social networking websites.
Until race legislation was enacted, South Africa would continue to have crimes where race remained a major fact, Simelane said.
His comments related to a picture posted on the social media website Facebook of a black boy lying down, with a white man kneeling next to him holding a rifle.
Mhaga said Simelane had been responding to questions posed by the newspaper relating to comments he had made on social networking site Twitter.
"The NDPP tweets to communicate legal positions on various issues that relate to NPA business," he said.
"Upon official notification and receipt of the said complaint, he [Simelane] will study and consider it before responding, if it is necessary to respond," said Mhaga.
SAHRC spokesperson Vincent Moaga said the complaint was received on Monday.
"It will be put through our complaint assessment process to determine the best way of dealing with it."
- SAPA
