The Stellenbosch Municipality has responded to a video circulating on social media which allegedly shows its human resources manager, Alexander Kannemeyer, making controversial comments about white employees.
Stellenbosch reacts to viral video
The clip, widely shared online, has caused outrage, with many residents calling the remarks racist and demanding action.
However, the municipality insists the video is not accurate, calling it a “deliberately edited short snippet” taken out of context from a closed employment equity meeting in March 2023.
In the footage, Kannemeyer appears to say that too many qualified white men are being hired because of merit-based recruitment and that this trend should change.
He also allegedly suggests that, where hiring a white candidate is unavoidable, their work environment should be made so difficult that they resign — a practice sometimes called “constructive dismissal,” which is illegal in South African labour law.
The clip was originally leaked by The Cape Independent and spread widely on X (formerly Twitter), where users accused the municipality of targeting employees based on race.
Municipality’s official response
In a statement — later deleted from its Facebook page — Stellenbosch Municipality denied the interpretation of the video. It said Kannemeyer’s words had been misrepresented to push a false narrative.
According to the municipality, the HR manager’s comments referred to how a past employee “may have had their work-life made more difficult than necessary”, and not as an instruction to target white staff.
The statement added:
- Recruitment processes are transparent and merit-based.
- The municipality follows South Africa’s employment equity legislation, which requires fair opportunities for historically disadvantaged groups.
“The best candidate for any position is always employed,” it said.
The municipality confirmed the issue is under internal investigation and being reviewed at the CCMA (Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration), but no findings have yet been made.
