Complainants unhappy about SAHRC findings on King Zwelithini violence sparking remarks

Complainants who took King Goodwill Zwelithini to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) for his utterances relating to foreigners are unhappy with the findings of a preliminary report released last week.

Zimbabweans also experienced xenophobic attack in South Africa following the king's remarks.

The complainants included the African Diaspora Forum and 30 other private individuals, who alleged that King Zwelithini's comments that foreign nationals must pack their bags and go back to their home countries led to the xenophobic violence in KwaZulu-Natal in March.

 He made the comments at an address in Pongola, earlier in March.

The findings of the report went against claims that his speech constituted a call to locals to take up arms or harm foreign nationals. The SAHRC said it could not have been reasonably construed as inciting harm or violence against foreign nationals. It was only "hurtful".

It recommends that mediation be used to solve the issue and that the king indicate to the commission within 30 days of the final report whether he agrees to apologise publicly and to submit to a private mediated settlement of the dispute.

One of the complainants said the report was flawed and didn't handle the king in the manner in which he deserved to be handled.

"The report is thin in its legal and substantive arguments for its findings that the king's comments were only hurtful. This is challengeable in a court of law. The report reads like a whitewash and damages the standing of the SAHRC, which appears cowed, political and devoid of principle. It undermines our constitutional regime as a whole. I am extremely disappointed," he said.

Another complainant said the only way forward was for the king to apologise.

"Failing an apology, the king must be brought personally before the Equality Court, as it sets out in the report. We will not give up our struggle to transform this country into a nation we can be proud of, where equality, peace and respect for each other are paramount. The king, like every other citizen in this country, must respect the laws of the land and remain within them," she said.

Meanwhile, complainants were also upset that their identities had been revealed to one another when the SAHRC sent out a group e-mail to all of them. Their e-mail addresses, which contained some of their names, were made public.

But Lindiwe Khumalo, chief executive officer of the SAHRC, said none of the complainants asked for their identities to be withheld. Khumalo said she had received a lot of criticism about the report.

"But this is what it's all about. This is now a chance for the complainants to respond to us, so we thank them and welcome any criticism they may have. Their feedback will be vital in putting together the final report," she said.

The final report will be released at the end of February.