KZN DA wants eThekwini council speaker removed for failure to investigate alleged racism incident

DURBAN - The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KwaZulu-Natal says it wants to oust Thabani Nyawose as speaker of the eThekwini council following an alleged racism incident in the council.  

This comes after an unidentified councillor allegedly told a DA councillor to "go back to Bombay".  

The DA claimed the councillor who made the remarks was seated on the African National Congress (ANC) benches.  

The party said this was an attack on the entire Indian community.  

Having approached the Human Rights Commission (HRC) to investigate the alleged racism incident, the DA insisted that Nyawose must be removed as speaker of the eThekwini Council, accusing him of failing to take action on the matter.  

“We will try every possibility. There is also a vote of no confidence against the speaker, I believe in the first sitting in January,” said DA KwaZulu-Natal leader Francois Rodgers.  

However, the municipality said it would look into the matter and condemned such behaviour.  

Meanwhile, Nyawose said it had proven difficult to identify the culprit but called on councillors to assist him in finding the councillor in question.