EFF supporters protested at a Bloemfontein resort.
PHOTO: @Sentletse, Twitter
- President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged South Africans to oppose racism following the Christmas Day incident at a Free State resort.
- A video showing white men attacking two black teenagers in a swimming pool in Bloemfontein has gone viral.
- Police are investigating a case of common assault against the men who allegedly assaulted the children.
Following an alleged racist incident at a Free State resort, President Cyril Ramaphosa warned that “racism has no place in South Africa and racists should expect harsh consequences in terms of the law.”
Ramaphosa said: “As black and white South Africans, we must be united in condemning all manifestations of racism and attempts to explain away or defend such crimes. Racism is not a problem that only black South Africans should combat.”
“We must also stand together to rid our society of the violence we see in the videos of the Free State resort incident, whether that violence comes with racism or not.”
READ | EFF protests at the Bloemfontein resort after an alleged racial confrontation
On Monday, Free State Police spokesman Brigadier Motantsi Makhele said they were investigating a case of common assault after a group of white men allegedly attacked two black teenagers at the Maselspoort Resort on the outskirts of Bloemfontein on Christmas day.
A video of the apparently racially motivated confrontation has gone viral on social media.
It is alleged that the white men tried to prevent the black teenagers from using the pool at the complex.
Ramaphosa added: “It is deplorable that adults dealing with adolescents resort to violence with such disturbing ease, physically hurting people and violating the provisions of our Bill of Rights on the safety of the person, including the right to dignity and to be free from violence”.
He said investigations into the matter should run their course.
He said:
Under the rule of law, we can and must declare that racism has no place in our society and that racists have nowhere to hide. We must uphold our continuing national mission to rid our society of the divisions and wounds of our past.
News24 was unable to reach Maselspoort Resort for comment at the time of publication.
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