three white men violently attack black teenagers in the pool of a resort: 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 middle of the southern summer, shows these middle-aged men trying to strangle, slap, stick their heads under water two skinny cousins ages 15 and 18 who struggle, kicking fists. One of the men, cigar in hand, grabs the younger man’s hair and shakes his head.
The images have circulated quickly through the networks:
Christmas 2022.
Black children are attacked and thrown out of a
pool ”for whites only”. The images show the brutality of the supremacists.
has happened in #South Africawhich is still far from being the segregation-free country he dreamed of #Mandela. ?? pic.twitter.com/lTyPQrdKbb— Almudena Ariza (@almuariza) December 29, 2022
Sadly reminiscent of apartheid, these images of stark violence were reportedly preceded by a lively exchange in which the men barred the boys from using the pool, insisting that it was reserved for the center’s patrons. According to witnesses, they did not explicitly say “whites only”, but in a South African context, that was what many heard immediately.
When the investigators arrived, “the altercation was over and scattered groups,” according to a police statement.
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, appeared in court on Thursday for attempted murder, prosecutors were told.
They are called to appear on January 25
The incident took place in bloemfonteinin the Free State province, an area known for recurring racial tensions.
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“We must rid our society of the violence” seen in this video, whether or not it is “accompanied by racism,” he reacted on Tuesday President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“It is deplorable that adults dealing with adolescents resort to violence with such disturbing ease,” he added.