Mchunu is no stranger to sparking controversy on social media.
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) has lodged a formal complaint with the SA Human Rights Commission (HRC) against Ngizwe Mchunu for his homophobic rant on social media.
This comes after Mchunu posted a video on his TikTok criticising a gay couple who got married over the weekend in traditional African attire. One of the grooms was dressed in traditional Zulu gear which infuriated Mchunu.
“You guys are taking the power in our warrior attire and sleeping with each other. A man that sleeps with another man is rubbish. You guys are causing big problems for us.
“Somizi must take his people and leave this country, South Africa,” he said, among other hurtful comments.
He added that gay people who wear traditional Zulu outfits were offending the Amabutho (Zulu warriors).
The Citizen has reached out to Mchunu for comment. This article will be updated once it is received.
Inciting violence
In his letter to the HRC, the UDM’s Mxolisi Makhubu argued that Mchunu’s comments incited violence against the LGBTQIA+ community.
“I write to lodge a formal complaint against Ngizwe Mchunu for hate speech, incitement to violence and ethnic mobilisation targeting members of the LGBTQIA+ community in South Africa,” Makhubu said.
“His recent utterances, although since deleted, garnered more than one million views online, with hundreds of comments openly calling for the public execution of queer people.”
Video taken down
Even though Mchunu has taken the video down from his social media pages, Makhubu said he must take responsibility for his utterances.
“Once words of violence are released, they cannot be recalled and the climate of fear they create remains long after deletion,” he said.
Makhubu said Mchunu’s remarks cannot be described as mere cultural commentary or opinion.
“They constitute a direct attack on queer South Africans, effectively denying them their cultural birth right and their right to belong to the communities into which they were born.
“This attempt to displace queer people from their culture is nothing short of diabolical and it is accompanied by rhetoric that emboldens calls for their murder.
“His conduct therefore falls squarely within the definition of hate speech and incitement to violence under South African law,” he said.
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Preserving Zulu culture
Mchunu is a former Ukhozi FM presenter and has described himself as the president of Amabinqa, a group known for preserving Zulu culture.
He was considered as one of several instigators of the July unrests in 2021 through his social media posts.
Mchunu is also known for his strong support for former president Jacob Zuma.