Twitter race row reverend apologises

2012-01-10 08:36

Janice Keogh, Beeld

Cape Town - A self-proclaimed minister who tweeted that a large number of white people should be killed to eradicate racism, said on Monday he should have thought twice before tweeting.

He singled out DA leader and Western Cape Premier Helen Zille in the tweet.

Zille laid a charge of hate speech with the police after Kemo Waters, who referred to himself as Reverend Kemo Waters on Twitter, wrote in the early hours of Saturday morning: “The only way to end racism is to kill a material number of whites. @helenzille your indifferent and patronising stance is a double dare...”

In his next few tweets he wrote that white people should be ashamed that an organisation like the ANC was necessary and that racism was a form of blasphemy as it questioned part of God’s creation of Africans.

Zille accused Waters of hate speech on Twitter on Saturday.

Singer Steve Hofmeyr also took on Waters, who then accused Hofmeyr of having a “racist soul” and that the song De la Rey was his lullaby.

Many took part in the debate and Waters was criticised by people of all races.

Threats

Waters told Beeld on Monday that he had received threatening anonymous phone calls since making the remarks.

He moved to Cape Town from Johannesburg last year to start the KemoTherapy Institute of Truth.

He intended for it to be turned into a church.

He apologised on Monday to those affected by his words on Twitter.

“I said it to get Helen Zille’s attention and to get people talking about racism in Cape Town.

“I didn’t mean that people should take up weapons and start a civil war,” he said.

Waters also said he didn’t want to kill white people, but realised people could interpret his words in this way.

Zille said there were several other ways in which Waters could get her attention without making such remarks.
 

- Beeld