Minority-rights organisation AfriForum will no longer pursue a complaint against Jacaranda FM breakfast show co-host Tumi Morake. Ernst Roets, AfriForum's deputy CEO, confirmed this to HuffPost SA on Thursday.
This is an about-turn after it on Wednesday threatened to report Morake to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of SA (BCCSA) for what it described as "racist" comments.
On Wednesday afternoon, during presenter Rian van Heerden's show on the same station, an attempt was made to bury the hatchet between Morake and AfriForum.
Reflecting on South Africa's transition from apartheid to democracy, Morake stated that "apartheid was about the oppression of black people", on her Tuesday show.
"You cannot claim to love a country if you do not love the people in it," she continued.
"It's like a child whose bicycle was taken forcefully away from him and then you say to the bully, 'no, no, no, share the bike together, don't be like that.'"
After the show, a social media storm ensued with AfriForum and Solidarity labelling her a "racist". The two organisations campaigned online to have Morake taken to task for her comments.
A source, who did not want to be named, said that Jacaranda FM management would be meeting with Morake on Thursday.
Both Jacaranda FM 's general manager, Kevin Fine, and station manager, Gavin Meiring, declined to comment on the meeting.
Fine hung up after realising the call was about Morake, while Meiring said he would not be commenting on the matter at the moment as the station was now dealing with the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa.
The BCCSA said several complaints had been laid but declined to comment further.
Jacaranda has issued a statement on the matter; however, the station has not clearly stated whether it was supporting the comedian. The statement said the station encouraged dialogue around issues regarding social issues, but did not say anything specifically about Morake.
