By John Whitlock
I sincerely hope that Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, and others, who unjustly accused white parents of Brackenfell High of racism, have read the Western Cape MEC for education’s report of the alleged incident.
It is unacceptable that black parents, or even the clergy, in their haste to create a racist furore, accused white parents of racism before the facts were known.
The MEC found that no pupils were excluded on the basis of race; it was a private function organised by a parent at a private venue, where the numbers, due to Covid-19, were limited to 100 attendees. The invitation did not refer to the school, but was widely circulated to all, via WhatsApp and class representatives, even to outsiders.
Some 42 Brackenfell High learners attended, as well as 30 from surrounding schools. The four teachers were invited in their personal capacity and did not need the principal’s permission. Since when do principals govern teachers’ private lives? Utter codswallop. The head boy and head girl did not attend as they had other plans.
The Bill of Rights; section 18 states:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of association”, but black parents, ignoring the Bill of Rights, seem to believe that they and their children have the right to attend anything organised by whites, even private functions, even if they have not been invited. It’s called gate-crashing.
I earnestly the archbishop, in the spirit of reconciliation, will apologise for the remarks he made in his letter, “Brackenfell sends alarm bells for racists”, where he suggested that it is only whites and their children who are racists.
He should concentrate his efforts on the fraud and corruption that has ruined the country, the poor education system, the thousands of schoolgirl pregnancies, failing infrastructure, low morals and the extreme violence and lawlessness that knows no bounds. The men of the cloth have done very little with regard to the above.
The Star