Johannesburg – President Cyril Ramaphosa has weighed in on the racist attack at Maselspoort resort complex involving at least three white burly men who assaulted black children for swimming in a “whites-only pool”.
The incident at the tourist resort in Bloemfontein, Free State, was captured on video and has since gone viral on social media.
The President said, “racism has no place in South Africa and racists must expect harsh consequences in terms of the law”.
Spokesperson to the President, Vincent Magwenya, said Tuesday: “The President commends the South African Police Service for opening dockets and launching investigations into a reported case of suspected racism at a Free State holiday resort on Christmas Day.”
The complaint entails an alleged assault – widely accessible for viewing on social media platforms – on black teenage boys by white adults who appear to argue that the boys are not allowed in a swimming pool reserved for white users.
President Ramaphosa said: “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 black 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.
“We must also be united in ridding our society of the violence we see in the videos of the incident at the Free State resort, 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.
“Under the rule of law, we must let investigations take their course but under the rule of law, we can and must also declare that racism has no place in our society and racists have no place to hide.
“We must defend our continuing national mission of ridding our society of the divisions and the hurts of our past.”
Meanwhile, the African National Congress (ANC) strongly condemns these senseless acts of toxic legacy experienced for many years by our forefathers at all costs which took place at Maselspoort Resort on Christmas day.
The ANC said, “this unwarranted behaviour should never be entertained in whatever form but to be treated as a matter of urgency, which infringed on the rights of other race groups”.
In a statement, the ANC in Mangaung Region, said: “One would have expected that the perpetrators, who are adults, would have acted more senior and in a manner which is acceptable, after the father of the boys intervened and resolved the matter, but instead continued to attack and assault the boys”.
The video, which went viral, shows how the boys were physically attacked by adult white men.
One white man dived into the water while holding a black boy in a chokehold. Another white adult man joined in as they attempted to drown the child.
“We are also of the view that more has to be done to translate the solidarity between different racial groups in politics to the world outside politics,” the ANC said.
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However, the ANC appealed for restraint, saying: “We appeal for calm and to allow law enforcement agencies, the Department of Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, and Maselspoort Resort management to properly investigate the matter and ensure the perpetrators are brought to book”.
The parents of the children have laid a complaint with the police.
“As the Region, we will follow up and monitor the progress on the reported case to ensure that the victims concerned receive justice,” said the ANC in Mangaung.
“While the law enforcement agencies are doing their work, we want to also inform all those harboring racist intentions to stop and accept that we have forgotten and reconciled with the fact that our forefathers were once racially abused for many years without us retaliating.
“We are also appealing to the Institute of Race Relations and Human Rights Commission to do its work to the satisfaction of all South Africans.
“In the 28th year having attained freedom; it can’t be correct that you still have some white [racist] remnants who are advocating and racially attacking other race groups.”
