THE two alleged perpetrators of what has been regarded as racial segregation and racism at the Maselspoort Resort and Conference Centre appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court on Wednesday, 28 December.
Johan Nel (33) and Jan stephanus van der Westhuizen (47) were arrested in Bothaville and Brandfort respectively. They are facing charges of assault and crimen injuria after being identified within a group of white men who allegedly assaulted two black teenage boys on Christmas Day, and were released on warning.
Brigadier Motantsi Makhele said the third suspect (48) was arrested after midday and charged with attempted murder, and is expected to appear in court on Thursday.
The accused were seen on the video, that has since gone viral, clashing and manhandling boys, aged 13 and 18, allegedly over the usage of the swimming pool.
Commissioner Lieutenant-General Baile Motswenyane commended the investigating team.
“This matter was regarded as very sensitive, hence we appealed to our team to handle it with the urgency it deserved.”
The family said they did not want to interfere with the legal process, and referred any media queries to their lawyer. The SunTeam tried to get hold of Advocate Zola Majavu, but his phone went to voicemail.
Maselspoort is regarded as one of the best attractive tourism facilities in the province, with potential to attract thousands of tourists both locally and abroad.
Tourism MEC Makalo Mohale said thus far, the incident had been identified as one element that remained a threat to the revival of the sector.
“We urge our communities to report any incident of racism to law enforcement agencies, and continue to play a role in assisting the police to ensure that perpetrators are brought to book,” said Mohale, further encouraging tourists to continue visiting the province.
The office of President Cyril Ramaphosa also joined civic organisations and people to condemn the incident.
In a statement by spokesman Vincent Magwenya, Ramaphosa said racism had no place in South Africa and racists must expect harsh consequences in terms of the law.
“Our Constitution means exactly what it says when it declares that South Africa, and that means all of South Africa, belongs to all who live in it. As and white South Africans, we should be united in condemning all manifestations of racism and attempts to explain or defend such crimes. Racism is not a problem to be fought by black South Africans only,” read the statement.
“We must also be united in ridding our society of the violence we see in the videos of the incident, whether such violence comes with racism or not. It is deplorable that adults dealing with teenagers resort to violence with such disturbing ease, hurting people physically and offending provisions in our Bill of Rights around security of the person, including the right to dignity and being free of violence.”
