A global UK-based public relations firm has been forced to suspend staff and apologise for its role in a media campaign launched in South Africa that critics said was stoking racial tensions.
London-based Bell Pottinger said this week that it had fired one partner and suspended another as well as two other employees, pending an investigation into the campaign which was said to have focussed on the dominant role of businesses owned by white people in the South Africa.
“We are deeply sorry that this happened,” Bell Pottinger chief executive James Henderson said in a statement on Thursday. He said that an initial investigation, conducted by independent international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, had provided concerning evidence, especially in a country with such a troubled racial history.
The accusations relate to Bell Pottinger’s year-long relationship with Oakbay, a company controlled by the wealthy Gupta family of Indian-born businessmen, which has widely been accused of exerting undue influence over South African President Jacob Zuma.
Bell Pottinger is also being investigated by the UK’s Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) following a complaint from South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA).
The DA, which is supported by many white South Africans, has blamed Bell Pottinger for working to “divide and conquer the South African public by exploiting racial tensions in a bid to keep Jacob Zuma and the ANC in power".
Those allegations reportedly stemmed from leaked emails which suggested that Bell Pottinger had worked with Oakbay to create a “narrative that grabs the attention of the grassroots population”.
An email published in South African media claimed to show that Bell Pottinger had said that the campaign needs to stress the continued “existence of economic apartheid”.
Media and civil society groups have also accused Bell Pottinger of portraying anyone opposing the Guptas and President Jacob Zuma as “white monopoly capital”.
South Africa, which is the continent’s most industrialised economy, abolished apartheid more than two decades ago, but many living there are still frustrated by lasting inequality.
According to Reuters, black people make up about 80 per cent of the 54 million population but a lot of the land and a large proportion of businesses remain in the hands of whites, who account for just 8 per cent of the population.
The spat around Bell Pottinger has sparked furious social media campaigns, with hundred taking to Twitter and Facebook and expressing their dismay with hashtags like #bellpottingermustfall.
Bell Pottinger offers services including lobbying, speech writing and public relations consulting to wealthy individuals, companies and governments.
