Friday, February 2, 2024 – DA leader John Steenhuisen has refused to apologise for his “Pep Stores uniforms” comments despite the huge public backlash against him, with many accusing him of being a racist.
Steenhuisen insists that his comments made last week were
not racist and there’s no need for him to apologise.
He said the wardens were an election gimmick by Lesufi to
win votes ahead of the elections.
“I don’t think there’s any reason to apologise. I shop at
Pep, 90% of my daughters’ clothing comes from Pep.”
“I’m very proud to shop there, it’s value for money.”
“There’s nothing racist about that.”
“There was nothing racist about it when people said Carl
Niehaus wears Pep Store camouflage,” he said.
Steenhuisen was addressing supporters on Saturday on a
campaign trail in Soshanguve when he made remarks about the crime- fighting
wardens which sparked outrage.
He said that the time: “What did Panyaza Lesufi do? He took
your tax money to buy ill-fitting Pep Stores uniforms for untrained cadres and
pretended that they were ‘crime wardens’.”
“What kind of person pulls a drunkard out of a shebeen,
gives him a uniform and a weapon, and then unleashes them onto a community?”
The DA leader said the wardens were nothing more than an
“election gimmick” to win ANC support before the upcoming polls.
“The real issue here is that we’ve got crime wardens running
around acting on the instructions of a politician and are causing significant
harm and acting in unlawful ways — including certifying documents, acting as
commissioners of oath when they have no authority to do so.”
“This
is an election gimmick by Lesufi and it’s starting to have deadly consequences
for ordinary citizens who find themselves on the wrong side of the baton,” he
said.
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