Durban — Pressure is mounting for eThekwini Municipality Speaker Thabani Nyawose to resign after being accused of protecting “an ANC councillor” who made racist remarks about Indians in a council meeting earlier last month.

During a council meeting on Monday in Durban, the Speaker announced that he was experiencing difficulties with the investigation as no one came forward with the name of the culprit.

The remarks “Indians must go back to Bombay” are said to have come from the ANC benches during last month’s full council meeting.

But, to date, the municipality has not been able to identify the culprit although it announced an investigation the following day.

However, the ANC in eThekwini dismissed the assertion that on of its party’s councillors had uttered the “racist“ words.

The remarks that sparked anger from the Indian community, were directed at DA councillor Yogis Govender during a debate on the 1860 Indentured Indian Labourers Monument, a statue proposed to be erected in honour of the arrival of the first batch of indentured servants from India in the then Natal in 1860.

Speaking to the Daily News on Monday Govender expressed her disappointment. She said the DA condemned the conduct of “this racist councillor” and his accomplices in covering up his crime. She said there would have been several people sitting next to this perpetrator who know who he is but are protecting him.

“I do not believe that the Speaker has been thorough enough in conducting a proper investigation into this matter. It is extremely weak and worrying for the speaker to say that because the perpetrator has not owned up, there is nothing more to do. The DA has filed its motion of no confidence in the Speaker and we await confirmation of its inclusion in the next council agenda,” said Govender.

On Monday, there was a heated debate between an ANC councillor, the Speaker and the opposition which accused the Speaker of shielding the racist councillor because he was from his party.

The crusade was led by outspoken KwaZulu-Natal ActionSA leader Zwakele Mncwango, who said the words came from the ANC benches. He was quickly shouted down by both the Speaker and the ANC councillor.

The Speaker overruled Mncwango, saying that if he did not hear which councillor uttered those words he could not speculate that he was an ANC councillor.

However, a defiant Mncwango refused to withdraw and instead told the Speaker that he was protecting the racist ANC councillor.

He said he was disturbed by the Speaker’s action in stopping him from saying he heard that the voice came from the ANC. Mncwango said the Speaker's action was clearly shielding the ANC from being held accountable for their councillor’s action because the party would have been forced to release the name.

ActionSA’s sentiments were shared by the IFP which accused the ANC caucus of protecting the racist councillor. The IFP said a conclusion must be made that the councillor was from the ANC, but it was intercepted by the ANC councillor Nkosenhle Madlala who said his party wished that the councillor was known because he would have taken action against him. Madlala said the ANC was founded on the principle of non-racialism therefore, it would not tolerate racism within its ranks.

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