Three white men have been charged with crimes ranging from ordinary assault to attempted murder following an alleged racially motivated attack on two black boys at a public swimming pool.
The men were filmed allegedly attacking the teenagers as they tried to use the pool at the Maselspoort resort in the Free State province on Christmas Day.
The trio appeared to be trying to stop the teens, ages 13 and 18, from swimming and claimed the pool was reserved for whites.
In the video, reportedly filmed by a relative and widely condemned on social media, the men appeared to yell at and hit the teenagers.
The men were filmed allegedly attacking the teenagers as they tried to use the pool at the Maselspoort resort in the Free State province on Christmas Day
One of the men appeared to be holding the 18-year-old boy’s head underwater while the 13-year-old boy was allegedly grabbed by the neck and pulled by his hair.
Additional security footage is said to show the men trying to stop the teens from entering the pool and the group of white people exiting the water once the black teens have entered.
Johan Nel, 33, and Jan Stephanus van der Westhuizen, 47, were both released on a caution and will face trial in the new year on charges of assault and assault together.
A third man, 48, has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly holding one of the boys under water.
Political parties and activists rallied outside the courthouse on Thursday to protest and the incident drew widespread condemnation, including from President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The video appears to show the young child with two hands wrapped around his neck
Brian Nakedi, who fought apartheid in South Africa growing up, told the New York Times his 18-year-old son was one of the two boys in the now-viral videos.
“I became outraged. We need to relive the pain through our children,” he said.
Mr Nakedi, 58, said he and his extended family booked a three-night stay at the resort over Christmas. The resort, he said, is divided into two sections, and the campground side is generally mostly white.
When the two boys decided to swim in the pool on this side of the property, he claims they were immediately questioned by white guests, who told them they weren’t allowed to be there.
As tensions rose, he said the two boys left to speak to their parents and Mr Nakedi joined them at the pool to confront the main attackers.
Mr Nakedi claims he thought the situation was resolved and assured the youths they could return to the pool, only for tensions to flare up again.
One of the men appeared to be holding the 18-year-old boy’s head underwater while the 13-year-old boy was allegedly grabbed by the neck and pulled by his hair
The trio appeared to be trying to stop the teens, ages 13 and 18, from swimming and claimed the pool was reserved for whites
The teenager at the center of the argument told the publication the man, who allegedly held his head under water, told him: “You fight for the water; now you will die.’
President Ramaphosa said: “Within the framework of the rule of law, we must let the investigation run its course.
“But under the rule of law, we can and must also explain that racism has no place in our society and racists cannot hide.”
“As black and white South Africans, we should unite in condemning all expressions of racism and attempts to explain or defend such crimes.
Separate security footage also showed the incident from a different angle
Additional security footage is said to show the men trying to stop the teens from entering the pool and the group of white people exiting the water once the black teens have entered
“Racism is not an issue that needs to be fought only by black South Africans,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.
Members of the Economic Freedom Fighters Party visited the resort and demanded answers from the manager, who claimed there was no racial segregation policy.
Racism remains a sensitive issue in South Africa nearly 30 years after South Africa’s transition from white minority rule, known as apartheid, to democracy.
In 2018, real estate agent Vicky Momberg was sentenced to three years in prison for racially abusing a black police officer in a landmark ruling that marked the first time jailing a person for a racist act.
In 2020, Adam Catzavelos, a white man, was convicted of assault and given a suspended sentence after he used racial slurs in a video that circulated on social media.