Cllr: ‘We have to keep shouting’ to stop racism

Individuals must consistently highlight and condemn instances of racism if there is to be any progress in eradicating it, according to a Cork city councillor.

Honore Kamegni, Cork City Councillor for the South-East Ward, has said the racist abuse he has experienced online is “dehumanising”.

“It has a real impact, not just on me, but on others who see it and recognise themselves in it,” he said.

However, he said what was important is that the comments do not get “brushed off”. “We all need to keep speaking out, keep shouting,” he said.

There is a responsibility on Government and on social media companies to hold people accountable, he said.

“The reality is that there is no law, no traceability. There’s no one to speak to, no one to take responsibility.

“People are able to hide behind their keyboards and pretend to be real people. But they’re not real people - the real people are the ones I meet on the doors, and they are very supportive,” he said.

Kamegni has drawn support from a number of his council colleagues.

Cllr Dan Boyle, under whom Cllr Kamegni served as deputy lord mayor between 2024-2025, said he was “horrified” by the comments being directed against Cllr Kamegni.

Posting on Facebook, he said: “Honore has proved himself an effective member of the city council. He was a great support to me as lord mayor when he was an excellent deputy lord mayor.”

“The ignorance on display is appalling,” he said.

He agreed with Cllr Kamegni that the Government and social media have a responsibility for what is posted online.

“It’s totally unacceptable that a public representative be treated like this,” he said.

Cllr Ted Tynan from the Workers’ Party similarly expressed his support for Cllr Kamegni.

“The Workers Party of Ireland maintains that racism, ethnic profiling and hate speech against people of a different colour or culture has no place in society nor on any social media platform such as X.

“Racism and ethnic profiling form part of the fundamental ideology of neoliberalism. They can only be challenged and combatted and eliminated from public discourse through a proactive socialist working class consciousness,” he said.

This article was produced with the support of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme funded by Coimisiún na Meán.