Three white men violently attack black teenagers in a resort pool: the shocking images have gone around South Africa, where the three suspects in the racist attack were charged this Thursday.
A video filmed on Christmas Day, in the height of southern summer, shows these middle-aged men trying to strangle, slap, stick their heads under water to two skinny cousins of 15 and 18 who are struggling, kicking their fists. One of the men, cigar in hand, grabs the younger man’s hair and shakes his head.
Ces images of cruel violence, sadly evocative of apartheid, auraient été précédées d’un vif échange au cours duquel les hommes ont interdit l’usage de la piscine aux garçons, insistent sur le fait qu’elle était réservée aux clients du center vacation.
According to witnesses, they did not explicitly say “whites only”, but in a South African context, that was what many heard immediately.
Le père et oncle des adolescents, Brian Nakedi, a raconté à la presse être venu, à la demande des deux jeunes, explicer à ces hommes “qui se trouvent être blancs” que les adolescents, logés sur place, avaient droit d’accéder à the pool. “They said it was a misunderstanding” but as soon as he left the fight broke out.
By the time investigators arrived, “the altercation had ended and the groups dispersed,” according to a police statement.
Three men brought before a judge
Police confirmed that two of the suspects, Johan Nel, 33, and Jan Stefanus Van der Westhuizen, 47, were charged and brought before a judge on Wednesday for assault. The third, Jacobus Johannes Classen, 48, was brought before the courts on Thursday for attempted murder, according to what we learned from the prosecution. They are scheduled to appear on January 25.
The incident took place in Bloemfontein, in the Free State province, an area known for recurring racial tensions.
“We must rid our society of the violence” seen in this video, whether or not it is “accompanied by racism,” President Cyril Ramaphosa reacted on Tuesday.
“It is deplorable that adults dealing with adolescents resort to violence with such disturbing ease,” he added.
Source: BFM TV
