By Lebone Rodah Mosima
The National Task Team on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Expression and Sex Characteristics (NTT) said on Tuesday it was “alarmed” and “outraged” by recent comments made by radio personality Ngizwe Mchunu, describing them as “homophobic and hate-filled” and an attack on the country’s constitutional values of equality, dignity and freedom.
The NTT’s statement followed widespread condemnation from the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, and the Commission for Gender Equality.
Mchunu made the remarks earlier this month on the popular Podcast and Chill network, which has more than 1.6 million subscribers on YouTube. The controversy stemmed from his comments at the Kwa Mai Mai Traditional Market in Johannesburg, after which he reiterated similar views on the podcast.
“I don’t want to lie, this gay thing loves attention, we don’t have a problem of what they [do] at Kwa Mai Mai, but they shouldn’t come near our traditions and our beliefs in our culture,” he said on the podcast.
Mchunu remained defiant, and in subsequent personal posts, even rallied on his fellow Zulus to crash weddings of same-sex couples
The remarks were met with swift condemnation from the SAHRC, which said in a statement on 9 October that the utterances were prima facie violations of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (PEPUDA), also known as the hate-speech act.
The Commission sent a letter to Mchunu demanding that he immediately stop “publishing, distributing, or promoting any further content that incites violence, constitutes hate speech, or amounts to discrimination against LGBTI+ persons on any platform”.
It also ordered him to remove all offensive content from his social media accounts and other channels within 24 hours, and to issue a public retraction. After this, the SAHRC said, it would determine the next steps, which could include Equality Court proceedings.
The NTT said that while South Africa’s constitutional democracy guarantees freedom of expression, “this right does not extend to the advocacy of hatred that constitutes incitement to cause harm, as set out in section 16(2) of the Constitution”.
It added: “Any individual who publishes, propagates, advocates, or communicates words that could reasonably be construed as demonstrating a clear intention to be hurtful, harmful, or to incite harm — or to promote or propagate hatred — based on a prohibited ground, including sexual orientation and gender identity, is in direct violation of section 10 of PEPUDA.”
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) was the first political party to respond to the incident. The party said its response came after African Transformation Movement (ATM) member Mxolisi Makhubu lodged a formal complaint with the SAHRC immediately after Mchunu’s remarks went viral, “openly calling for violence against queer people”.
The UDM said it recognised this not as an “isolated” incident but as part of “a broader moral and social crisis that demanded urgent institutional response”.
The NTT said it welcomed the SAHRC’s letter instructing Mchunu to comply with its three critical demands.
The task team also encouraged civil society organisations and affected individuals to pursue legal remedies through the Equality Courts.
In its statement, the NTT commended the Kwa Mai Mai Traditional Market for upholding constitutional values and promoting an inclusive environment for all citizens. This followed reports that Mchunu had been denied entry to the venue after making his remarks.
“As a nation, we must actively promote inclusive, dignified, and non-discriminatory narratives that celebrate South Africa’s rich diversity and foster respect for human rights,” the NTT said.
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