The University of Cape Town (UCT) student representative council (SRC) is taking action against a student leader who allegedly made derogatory remarks about black people on Twitter using the k-word.
The SRC said on Wednesday the student’s comments were unacceptable.
“The SRC has undertaken to hold the student accountable and will report them to the office for inclusivity and change . The student is part of the leadership of one of the university’s residences. The SRC has a duty to hold all student leaders accountable and we will approach the student governance court to ensure this,” it said.
The offensive comments were tweeted earlier this week after the address by President Cyril Ramaphosa on government's response to the second wave of Covid-19 infections.
After his address, some took to Twitter to participate in what was called the #RamaphosaChallenge, depicting themselves with a white speck on the corner of their mouths, as seen on Ramaphosa during his address.
In response to this, the student wrote: “The things that occupy a k****r mind”.
The SRC said although the student was biracial, it did not make her non-racist.
“In these tweets, the student showed the highest level of anti-blackness by referring to black citizens using the derogatory k-word and later hurling insults which stereotype black people’s class, education and parenting,” said the SRC.
“Defenders of this statement would have us believe this is not an issue because the student is biracial. However, this is a misunderstanding of the nature of the blackness in our society and specifically the gravity, depth and history of that specific word in the South African context,” it said.
The SRC said the comments portrayed black people as “irrational and undignified”.
The student has since deleted her Twitter account.
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