Vodacom to review Innibos sponsorship after Hofmeyr song MBOMBELA - Leading cellular network Vodacom will review its sponsorship of the annual Afrikaans cultural festival Innibos following the singing of the apartheid-era national anthem, Die Stem, at this year’s event in Mbombela. The cellular network’s reaction follows the singing of Die Stem at the festival in Mbombela led by controversial Afrikaans singer and actor, Steve Hofmeyr. As a minority sponsor of the event, we strongly distance ourselves from the unfortunate incident that occurred at the Innibos Arts Festival. We have expressed our objection to the event organisers and will review our commitment to this event,” said Vodacom Spokesman, Bongo Futuse. Earlier this week, Mpumalanga human rights lawyer Macbeth Ncongwane publicly challenged the sponsors of the Innibos festival to explain why they should continue supporting the festival following the singing of the apartheid national anthem last week. Why should corporate South Africa continue to support Innibos when it continues to undermine all efforts aimed at fostering social cohesion, said Ncongwane, who is a member of the Mpumalanga Human Rights Foundation, a body formed by human rights lawyers in the province. Ncongwane commended Vodacoms decision. That’s a great step for Vodacom and we are happy with their decision, said Ncongwane. Standard Bank and Vodacom are listed on the Innibos website as the main sponsors of the event. However, it is the Standard Bank’s logo that features prominently in the video of the incident. The video, titled “Kommandokorps Steve sing Die Stem Innibos,” is featured on the Kommandokorps’ YouTube account. Kommandokorps is a rightwing paramilitary group that trains white teenagers to defend themselves against a perceived black enemy while also teaching them that whites are superior to blacks. The group has come under severe criticism from prominent organisations, such as the Afrikaner lobby group, Afriforum and the Democratic Alliance. In response to a media enquiry, Standard Bank spokesman Ross Linstrom said that the bank was proud to be associated with the Innibos irrespective of the public outcry. Standard Bank is indeed proud of its association and development of art and artists in South Africa. While Standard Bank does not condone the actions of Steve Hofmeyr, the bank has a policy of not interfering with artistic or political views. It is not Standard Bank’s policy or role to censure artists’ public discourse or debates, said Linstrom. The organisers of the Innibos festival were equally unapologetic, even though they conceded that they would not have allowed the singing of the apartheid-era anthem as they perceived such an action as sensitive. Neither the organisers, nor the show director were aware that he would do this. We are of the opinion that Steve made the decision to sing this song only when he came on the stage Saturday night, where a capacity crowd gathered for the main concert of the festival, said Andy Lubbe, one of Innibos directors. We do wish to state though that we do not regard it as a political song and that Steve singing the song was not necessarily a political statement or a longing back to the past of the pre 1994 era. It is a song that many South Africans grew up with and the words of the song are not politically laden or racist in any way – in fact: it is still part of the National Anthem of South Africa, he Lubbe. Ncongwane, however, said that he was consulting with fellow human rights lawyers in Mpumalanga to consider taking the matter to the Equality Court if the organisers and the sponsors fail to apologise for what happened. I am prepared to abandon the case only if there are corrective measures put in place to ensure that things of this nature do not recur. They must be sure that the type of people they invite to perform do not sow division but encourage social cohesion, said Ncongwane. The singing of the apartheid-era anthem has already divided the South African society in the middle, with the Economic Freedom Fighters already calling for the debate on the removal of Die Stem version from the post apartheid national anthem, Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika. The Innibos incident also caused division between conservative and progressive Afrikaners. Singer and actress Elzabé Zietsman became a victim of abuse and death threats on her Facebook page after she called those who sang along Hofmeyr fools.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 09:31:55 +0000
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