Presidential hopeful Mehmet Vefa Dag says he will paint a pedestrian road in the City of Cape Town in black and white if the city does not remove the rainbow colours that are currently there as the country celebrates pride month.
A pedestrian crossing on Somerset Road at a Cape Town tourist hotspot in Green Point was painted in LGBTQIA+ rainbow colours in October 2022 to celebrate the community.
Dag, of the Truth and Solidarity Movement Party, gave mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis a week to remove the colours or face a criminal case, which he will personally open with the police if the painting on the road is not removed by Wednesday.
Speaking to Sunday World, Dag said his fight against the city does not mean that his party is homophobic, but is a fight for everyone’s rights in Cape Town.
“We are not homophobic, we care about everyone’s rights being respected equally. The City of Cape Town is putting rights of a minority ahead of everyone else and that is where the problem is for me,” he said.
“Community members in Langa and Khayelitsha, as well as other communities, are suffering with unbearable basic living conditions while the city says it does not have a budget while they take money and use it to paint the city in rainbow colours.
“We are all equal in the city, so why are they putting other people before everyone else?”
Dag said he will open a case of vandalism against the city, accusing it of putting the lives of motorists in danger.
“If you drive pass there, you normally stop and cause traffic because you are stunned by the colours on the road. That is putting the lives of motorists at risk.
“The city is not allowed to do that because it is putting the lives of motorists at risks. There is nowhere on the K53 where it states that pedestrian walkways must be rainbow coloured.
“I will open a case next week on Wednesday against the City of Cape Town which is led by the Democratic Alliance.”
The Truth and Solidarity Movement Party president came under fire on social media as users called him homophobic.
Ricky van Huyssteen said: “This guy is going on about the road being vandalised. Last time I checked the road is owned by the City of Cape Town, and therefore they cannot vandalised their own property. Mehmet, take the L dude, and just stop it.”
The city assured motorists at the revelation of the street in 2022 that the pedestrian crossing complies with the SANS standards for road markings.
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