Civil rights organisation Solidarity has threatened to take legal action against the City of Johannesburg after its 70-metre billboard along the M1 South was removed this week.
The advertisement, which read “Welcome to the most racially regulated country in the world”, was part of a campaign highlighting South Africa’s transformation policies ahead of the G20 Summit.
According to The Citizen, the banner was taken down shortly after Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi posted an image of it on social media, describing it as “racist” and accusing Solidarity of opposing transformation efforts.
“They hate transformation and are busy vulgarising our efforts to build an all-inclusive country that recognises the injustices of apartheid. We must defeat them,” Lesufi wrote.
When Solidarity threatened legal action, Lesufi doubled down in his response, saying:
“You can mobilise your constituency as you wish, that will not change your anti-transformation agenda. I am not a product of cowards! Racists are mindless, useless and selfish. Bring it on!”
Solidarity CEO Dirk Hermann said the organisation is consulting with its legal team regarding possible civil and criminal action against the city council and specific officials who authorised the removal.
He claimed the billboard space had been lawfully rented through an advertising agency and that all municipal requirements were met.
“The Johannesburg city council removed a legally approved advertisement simply because they did not like its message,” Hermann said.
“This amounts to unlawful censorship.”
Hermann further alleged that the sign was taken down after Lesufi’s social media post, which included comments from the Johannesburg mayoral committee member for safety and security, Mgcini Tshwaku, who replied “Removed” and shared a video of city workers dismantling the banner. Lesufi later confirmed its removal with a follow-up post stating, “Gone.”
“The city council itself is now the one vandalising property and censoring speech,” Hermann argued, adding that “it is an evil day when an authority can decide what can and cannot be said.”
The billboard’s removal comes amid heightened political tension in Gauteng ahead of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, with city officials already battling vandalism of public signage and infrastructure near the Nasrec precinct.
Solidarity maintains that the message on its banner was not inflammatory but rather aimed at sparking debate on the impact of race-based legislation in South Africa.
The organisation says it will continue to pursue legal recourse and public advocacy over what it calls a “clear case of government overreach and political intolerance.”
