ROSCOE Jacobs is so disgusted by Vanessa Hartley’s post on Facebook on Saturday that he has laid charges against her at a police station.
“I knew I had to do something,” said Jacobs, a member of the Hout Bay Civic Association and the ANC Youth League in Hout Bay, Cape Town.
“This kind of behaviour can’t be tolerated. South Africa belongs to everyone who lives in it. People shouldn’t be labelled by their race or religion.”
Jacobs said: “Racist remarks such as these are taking us back to the apartheid era instead of moving us forward.”
Hartley’s Facebook post, which has generated a lot of comments, said: “They’re like stupid animals. We should tie them to a rope.”
She said too many Africans are flocking to Hout Bay, and added: “Soon there will be nothing left of Hout Bay.”
In a later post, Hartley apologised for the comments, which she claimed were made at a bar by someone who thought it was funny.
“I am sorry for leaving my phone lying around, and here is my public apology,” read the post.
Bonginkosi Madikizela, the DA’s deputy leader in the Western Cape, said: “Comparing fellow South Africans to animals is reprehensible.”
He said South Africans must not allow individuals like Hartley to divide them.
Yonela Diko, the Western Cape ANC spokesman, said they laid charges against Hartley at the Human Rights Commission. The acting chairman of the commission, Mohamed Ameermia, confirmed that a complaint was lodged. “The matter is under investigation.”
Police spokesman Andre Traut said a case of crimen injuria was registered in Hout Bay yesterday.
