Shockingly Systemic Racism in Stellenbosch Municipality
Col Wyatt discusses leaked video footage in which a senior Stellenbosch Municipality HR manager Alexander Kannemeyer is seen advocating against the appointment of white candidates being employed in the municipality, he also claimed that unqualified non-white people should be hired instead to push for transformation. He went further to suggest that white folk should not be appointed, even if they performed the best in interviews. Kannemeyer even went so far as to advocate for deliberately making life difficult for white employees to force them to resign
Q&A: Shockingly Systemic Racism in Stellenbosch Municipality
- What is this video about?
Answer: A video circulating online appears to show Alexander Kannemeyer, the HR manager at Stellenbosch Municipality, advocating hiring unqualified individuals over whites to advance transformation goals. Threateningly, the video suggests making white employees’ working conditions so unbearable that they would resign rather than face proper dismissal procedures.
- Who is implicated?
Answer: Alexander Kannemeyer, HR Manager at Stellenbosch Municipality since August 2018, is the main person in focus. He reportedly expressed that white candidates—even if top scoring—should be systematically pushed out to prioritize transformation.
- What are the key allegations made in the video?
Answer:
- Kannemeyer criticized reliance on qualifications and skills when hiring, suggesting it resulted in “too many white people” being hired.
- He advocated for deliberately making life difficult for white employees to force them to resign.
- He admitted difficulty in supporting qualified white candidates based on scoring.
- He appeared to suggest circumventing fair hiring processes in favor of transformation aims.
- How has Stellenbosch Municipality responded so far?
Answer:
- The Democratic Alliance (DA), which has governed Stellenbosch Municipality since 2011, issued a statement expressing deep concern and reaffirming its commitment to non-racialism Democratic Alliance.
- The mayor has launched an investigation into the leaked video, acknowledging its seriousness and stating the events reportedly occurred before his term (he assumed office in late November 2024) Cape Town ETCDemocratic Alliance.
- The municipality has also claimed that the video is a “deliberately edited short snippet taken out of context” from an internal employment equity discussion held in March 2023 Cape Town ETC.
- Is this conduct legally problematic?
Answer: Yes. South Africa’s Constitution (Section 9) and the Employment Equity Act (55 of 1998) forbid unfair discrimination on the basis of race. The remarks and proposed actions in the video could constitute unlawful and systemic racial discrimination AfriForum.
- What broader implications does this case raise?
Answer:
- It raises urgent questions about how such behavior could occur unstopped within a municipality for several years (given Kannemeyer’s tenure since 2018).
- It casts doubt on oversight and enforcement of non-discriminatory practices within public institutions.
- Raises scrutiny of the South African Human Rights Commission’s role, as stakeholders ask whether it has been actively intervening in such cases or if exposure by the media is driving accountability.