The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) stated that they will pursue the Democratic Alliance's (DA) complaint against the man allegedly behind the race-baiting @TracyZille Twitter account, Mr Anthony Matumba.
Matumba, a prominent EFF politician and a member of the Makhado Municipality's executive council, was caught in the crossfire at the beginning of July after being accused of creating a fake social media profile to stir racial tension and to profit from it. During an interview with the Zoutpansberger shortly afterwards, Matumba denied creating the account. "Whoever is behind the @TracyZille account is a coward. I will tell you straight out what my opinion is (I don't need an alias)," Matumba told the newspaper.
@TracyZille became quite well known in the weeks leading up to the media storm which erupted because of "her" controversial opinion on matters, especially those concerning the perceived differences between races. The profile is seemingly that of a middle-aged white woman who enjoys racial stereotyping.
In a press release issued by Adv Glynnis Breytenbach, a member of parliament and the DA's Shadow Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Breytenbach said the DA welcomes the SAHRC's decision to pursue their complaint. The SARC on Wednesday confirmed it would institute the matter at the Equality Court.
"The utterances on the @TracyZille account sought to demean black South Africans, whilst at the same time vilifying white South Africans. The DA is of the view that this is tantamount to hate speech and we are pleased that this matter will now be tested before the Equality Court," said Breytenbach. She said that although the DA is committed to every South African's right to freedom of speech, they cannot sit by and watch as someone wilfully attempts to incite and deepen South Africa's already fractured race relations.