The South African Human Rights Commission is investigating a complaint regarding the start of the new procedure to change the name of Louis Trichardt.

The Chairpersons Association received a reply from the SAHRC, stating that the complaint on hate speech had been forwarded to the commission’s legal department for further investigation. The SAHRC will further arrange a meeting with the CA sometime in July to discuss the other matters that were raised.

In the meantime, the newly appointed name change committee allegedly held a meeting in June. The meeting is alleged to have been exclusive and in camera. Questions concerning the meeting had not yet been answered at the time of going to press.

"Still awaiting the feedback from the politicians," said the municipal manager, Ms Faith Muthambi, on July 3.

"The committee is acting exclusively. Both the process and the committee are exclusive and manipulated," said Mr André Naudé, chairpeson of the CA on June 26.

The committee was announced by the Makhado mayor, Cllr Glory Mashaba, during this year’s budget speech. The way the committee was composed, with no representatives from the CA and the Democratic Alliance, caused a furore.

"You have blatantly ignored the court decision by not consulting us in respect of the committee to be appointed and in respect of the process to be followed…" stated a letter from the CA to the Makhado mayor. The Appeal Court ruled in favour of the CA that the name change of Louis Trichardt to Makhado be set aside.

In a follow-up letter to the Human Rights Commission, the CA stated that the appointment of the committee was one-sided.

"It is clear that a process of manipulation is being followed already, with the sole purpose to phase in a new name, under a smokescreen for unsatisfying delivery, to collect votes by creation of issues, whilst taking vengeance on … minority groups," reads the letter dated June 28.

The hate speech complaint refers to the councillors of the Makhado Municipality´s singing the machine gun song at a special council meeting on April 12. During the meeting there was "collective racism against minority groups where the council, without any proper debate and without giving any reason, embarked once again on a process to change the name from Louis Trichardt to Makhado," was stated in the complaint.

The letters of the CA to the mayor and the Speaker were placed on record and they were required to have been answered by June 7. The fact that neither the mayor nor the Speaker had responded to the letters was emphasised to the Human Rights Commission.

The official municipal spokesperson, Mr Peter Magwala, promised in a press meeting in May that the municipality would answer within the allocated time.