Attack on Black teens at South Africa swimming pool leads to charges

Kgokong Nakedi, 18, told reporters that he and a 13-year-old relative were assaulted on Christmas Day by White people at a vacation resort they were visiting in Bloemfontein, in the Free State province. Nakedi said it started with verbal harassment as they attempted to prevent the teens from using the pool, then escalated into assault. Nakedi could not be immediately reached for comment early Thursday.

“They harassed us because we are Black,” Nakedi later told News Central TV in an interview. “They said we were not allowed to swim in the pool because it is for Whites only.”

It was the first holiday season the entire family had spent together since the pandemic, he added. “My main concern was the safety of my younger brother in this situation,” Nakedi said.

The incident added fuel to a national conversation about persistent racism almost 30 years after the end of South Africa’s apartheid era. It was condemned by the president, who called for the country to take a united stand against racism, saying it is “deplorable” that adults would resort to violence with “disturbing ease.”

A 48-year-old suspect, whom South African police did not name, was due to appear in court Thursday to face a charge of attempted murder. Two other men — Johan Nel, 33, and Jan Stephanus van der Westhuizen, 47, face charges including common assault and “crimen injuria,” which consists of “unlawfully and intentionally impairing the dignity or privacy of another person,” according to police, and have already appeared in court.

Police declined to confirm whether the charged men were the same as those who appeared in the video, noting that video evidence was still being considered by the court.

Nakedi said his cousin recorded the attack and the footage was posted online.

President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a statement Tuesday calling for the country to take a united stand against racism. “As black and white South Africans, we should be united in condemning all manifestations of racism and attempts to explain or defend such crimes,” he said. “It is deplorable that adults dealing with teenagers resort to violence with such disturbing ease.”

According to an earlier police statement, officers arrived at the Bloemfontein resort on Christmas Day shortly after 3 p.m. and found the groups had dispersed. A man at the scene then approached the officers and alleged that two teenagers had been assaulted by a group of White men over usage of the swimming pool, police said.

“Certain minorities think that they own the place and it’s their country,” Nakedi said in the interview. “But the truth is, it’s our home. Things like that are outdated.”