Twitter Latest: Now fake Durban doctor posts racist tweet

A Durban woman, posing as a doctor, who posted a racist Tweet could soon find herself in the Equality Court after an a local civic organisation took umbrage and stepped in to lay a criminal charge.

Dr TJ Ntshangase, using the Twitter handle @Jeffrey17397592, had tweeted: “To all doctors, I say let’s stand together and take over by injecting every white person with the wrong injection in hospital to pay back revenge. Even if I get fired, I’m loaded with money already.”

The post, which was retweeted, shared on Facebook and screen grabbed, has since been removed.  The person using the Twitter handle @Jeffrey17397592 has also since changed her profile picture and name to “Why is Black Lives Cheap compared to Whites”.

It was not possible to contact the poster of the racist tweet via direct message on Twitter and he had not responded to a mention in a direct Tweet requesting comment on Friday.

However she earlier told Daily News reporter Anelisa Khubeka that she was not a doctor. She claimed she had written the post in response to a tweet about the killing of a black farm worker by a white farmer.

“Sometimes when you are upset you just talk or act. But I’m still disappointed by all those white people. For just one tweet it’s a big story. Someone smart enough will see it’s a joke. But what I notice here in South Africa our lives are cheap, only white people’s lives are important,” she told Daily News

Narendh Ganesh, chairperson of the Duffs Road Civic Association, said he had reported the Tweet to the Greenwood Park Police station who had told him to take the matter to the Equality Court.

“The police said they could not open a case of hate speech so I have filed a complaint with equality court,” Ganesh said.

Ganesh said he had decided to open a case because he wanted to take a stand against racial hatred.

“If you take the Penny Sparrow case that is the other end of the racial hue. Everyone wanted her neck…it is about not formenting racial hatred. If one person acts on that kind of thing…one death is one too many and I am not prepared to be silent anymore,” he said.

“My patriotic duty is to ensure SA is a better place for all minus racial hatred and division. We are supposed to be a non-racial society constitutionally.  We are South African whatever our colour is should not matter and when people put out posts like this they forment hatred and animosity, whether against, whites or blacks or Indians or coloureds it would not matter,” he said.

“If racial outbursts of this nature are left unchecked, then we will continue to sow division and racial animosity and no right-thinking South African should tolerate or accept it, no matter from whom such polarising comments may come,” Ganesh said. 

Ganesh said he would also approach the Health Professions Council of SA regarding the matter as the person had claimed to be a doctor.