Comrades board member suspended for ‘racist’ comments

At the end of a turbulent week for the organization, the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) has suspended a board member for alleged racist comments.

Although the CMA’s constitution does not allow the board to dismiss one of its members without calling an extraordinary general meeting, the board confirmed on Saturday that it had decided to suspend the member pending the outcome of disciplinary proceedings.

“The CMA has reviewed its core functions, which include accountability, and has concluded that immediate suspension will save the association its limited financial resources that would have to be spent on convening an extraordinary general meeting, even more so considering that the annual general meeting (AGM) is only five months away,” the organisation said in a statement.

Accusations of racism

The suspended board member, whose name was not disclosed, was accused of making racist remarks in a WhatsApp group, an incident now dubbed “Vanillagate.”

The person claimed there were active efforts to increase the number of white CMA members who would be eligible to vote at the organization’s annual general meeting later this year.

In the post, they wrote: “Our new GM has been recruiting as many vanilla people as possible and we currently have almost 400 new members (all vanilla) who have joined and are looking to attend the AGM in November to return the CMA board to an all-white membership.”

According to CMA chair Mqondisi Ngcobo, the board was of the view that the individual should be suspended pending an investigation into the comments.

“The CMA reiterates its commitment to representing the interests of all runners and ensuring that there is no room for discrimination of any kind within the race itself, its organisation or among its members,” said Ngcobo.

Turbulent week

This latest move came two days after Comrades racing director Ann Ashworth announced she had been sacked after just seven months in the job as the board decided not to renew her contract.

Ashworth, who won high praise for her efforts in organising the popular annual race earlier this month, said a rift had developed between her and the CMA board.

She claimed that the position of race director had been promised to another employee on a long-term basis and that she had been pushed out of the role.