Phumzile Van Damme condemns #NigeriansMustGo trend

Phumzile Van Damme has come out against the #NigeriansMustGo trend on Twitter; this comes days after the DA made it clear that it is looking to criminalise xenophobic hate speech in the country.

The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Phumzile Van Damme took to Twitter on Monday, 28 September 2020, to add her voice to the contentious matter of prioritising South Africans in the country. For weeks now, the country has seen variations of the movement to prioritise South Africans in terms of employment and better living conditions. Some people believe that it is foreign nationals who receive preferential treatment.

Following a news article detailing the arrest of five Nigerian nationals for human trafficking, the article was used as proof of why Nigerian nationals should be deported. In light of the latest developments, Van Damme, whose party is campaigning to have xenophobic hate speech criminalised, commented on the contentious matter.

Van Damme attempted to draw parallels between the recent developments and racism. Her tweets on the matter prompted mixed reactions, considering how contentious the matter is currently.

See the posts below.

Some of you don’t want to be subjected to hate based on your skin colour, but you subject others to hate on the basis of their nationality. Not their character as individuals, but where they come from. How are you different from a racist? Discuss for 100 marks. Clue: you aren’t.

— Phumzile Van Damme (@zilevandamme) September 28, 2020

Those are your own assumptions. The question was very clear and directed to those who hate. If you don’t hate based on nationality then no issues 😊

— Phumzile Van Damme (@zilevandamme) September 28, 2020

Sabelo Makhubo
s.makhubo@politicalanalysis.co.za