Dear Mr. Macpherson,

I write to you with deep concern and disappointment regarding remarks attributed to you in a recent IOL article, where you reportedly referred to over 500 Black ActionSA members as “hobbos”, implying that they were not legitimate supporters but mere vagrants posing as members during the court proceedings in Pietermaritzburg.

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. 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 dehumanizing. 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.

When such language comes from a person in your position — a Minister and a senior leader of a political party — it sends a disturbing message: that Black people, when politically opposed or inconvenient, can be reduced to derogatory labels and dismissed as less than equal.

Even more troubling was your conduct during the court proceedings on Thursday. I observed you instructing Black DA members to vacate their front-row seats for White and Indian members. This visible relegation of your own Black colleagues raises serious questions about the racial attitudes and internal culture within your leadership style. Such actions are not only humiliating but reflective of a discriminatory mind set, which should have no place in any democratic or representative institution.

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.

I therefore call on you to:

• Issue a public apology to the Black ActionSA members you referred to as “hobos”
• Extend that apology to Black South Africans who saw in your words the reflection of old wounds and systemic bias;
• Reflect seriously on your behaviour during the court proceedings, particularly your treatment of Black DA members, and offer them a direct apology for the discrimination they experienced.

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.

Failure to make a public apology will only confirm that you accept the label of being racist, and that your intention was indeed to discriminate against Black people.

South Africa’s democracy demands leaders who unite, not degrade; who uplift, not insult. I urge you to rise to the moment and demonstrate the humility, accountability, and leadership that your office demands.

Yours faithfully,

(unsigned as electronically sent)

Zwakele Mncwango

ActionSA KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Chairperson