An East London businessman has come under fire for a racist post in which his son is painted in ‘blackface’. But a Daily Dispatch Weekend Edition report says Russel Kruger – who admitted he is the author – said the post was an ‘innocent joke’.

Kruger took to Facebook and Instagram last week to post a picture of his son’s face painted black with the caption: ‘Using my kids to apply for business grants hope we come right.’

Kruger, whose businesses are in the tourism sector, admitted he faced financial difficulties which could be alleviated by payouts for his 60 employees. By the time the post went viral on Facebook, Kruger had deactivated his account after his profile issued a post which said his account had been hacked.

Later, an explanation was provided on why his son’s face was painted black.

‘I posted a picture on Instagram of my son who had painted his face black and I said maybe I should use him to get a business grant. The post was obviously an innocent joke and I had just been informed that grant funding was unlikely to be given in the tourism industry to non-BEE businesses,’ he wrote on the post.

In response to Kruger’s post, social media users started a petition calling on the Human Rights Commission to charge Kruger with racism.

Full Daily Dispatch Weekend Edition report (subscription needed)

Mugg & Bean says the man, a franchise owner, will be held accountable for his actions.

In a statement recorded by News24, Mugg & Bean's marketing manager, Deeolan Govender, said: ‘We are immediately taking the necessary steps to address this with the appropriate action.’

Govender said the management of the Mugg & Bean brand was shocked and did not condone the actions.

Although the franchise owner claimed his intentions have been misunderstood, the Mugg & Bean brand found it ‘inexcusable that anyone can claim to be ignorant of the meaning of the image and its damaging effects’, he added.

Full News24 report