Afisa Uhusiano wa kampuni kubwa duniani aliyeandika tweet ya kibaguzi afukuzwa kazi, awaomba radhi watu wa Afrika Kusini

Mwanamke mmoja wa kizungu Justine Sacco amejikuta akipoteza kibarua chake kutokana na tweet yake ya utani lakini ya kibaguzi aliyoiandika Ijumaa ya wiki iliyopita.

Tweet hiyo iliyosomeka ‘Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!’ akimaanisha (Naenda Afrika. Naamini sitapata UKIMWI. Mimi mzungu).

Kwa mujibu wa BBC, Kampuni ya Inter Actice Corp (IAC) ya Marekani aliyokuwa aikifanya kazi Justine kama Afisa wa juu wa PR, wamemuachisha kazi mara mbili kumuachisha kazi mara moja mwanamke huyo kwa maslahi ya kampuni.

“The offensive comment does not reflect the views and values of IAC. We take this issue very seriously, and we have parted ways with the employee in question. There was no excuse for the hateful statements that had been made, and judging from the decision to”.

Baada ya tweet hiyo kusambaa kwenye mitandao Ijumaa bado haikufahamika kama ni kweli Justine mwenyewe alitweet au akaunti likuwa hacked, lakini sasa imethibitika kuwa ni kweli mwanamke huyo alitweet kwa utani na ameomba radhi baada ya maji kumwagika (japo hayawezi kuzoleka tena). Amewaomba msamaha watu wa Afrika Kusini ambao amedai amewakosea heshima kwa tweet ya kijinga, na kuongeza kuwa hata yeye alizaliwa Afrika Kusini hivyo amepatwa na aibu kubwa kwa kile alichokifanya.

“Words can not express how sorry I am, and how necessary it is for me to apologize to the people of South Africa, who I have offended due to a needless and careless tweet. There is an AIDS crisis taking place in this country, that we read about in America, but do not live with or face on a continuous basis. Unfortunately, it is terribly easy to be cavalier about an epidemic that one has never witnessed firsthand. For being insensitive to this crisis – which does not discriminate by race, gender or sexual orientation, but which terrifies us all uniformly – and to the millions of people living with the virus, I am ashamed. This is my father’s country, and I was born here. I cherish my ties to South Africa and my frequent visits, but I am in anguish knowing that my remarks have caused pain to so many people here; my family, friends and fellow South Africans. I am very sorry for the pain I caused.”

Justine ameendelea kushambuliwa kwenye mitandao ya kijamii, ikiwemo twitter ambapo kuna hashtag imeanzishwa #HasJustineLandedYet