The two white South African men sitting in court. Photo Credit: Pumza Fihlani
The two white men who forced a black South African man into a coffin on Wednesday appeared in court.
They were charged for assault and kidnapping after a 20-second video that showed their action went viral on social media.
The victim Victor Rethabile was threatened to enter the coffin or risk being burnt. Rethabile told journalists at the court that “They were accusing me of trespassing. They beat me up and forced me into the coffin”.
Victim Victor Mlotshwa (beige pants) thronged by ANC members, one leader says “this is our comrade, he belongs to the ANC”. #CoffinAssault pic.twitter.com/80xqigthXz
— Pumza Fihlani (@Pumza_Fihlani) November 16, 2016
The two accused white men, Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Martins Jackson, who appeared briefly in the Middelburg Magistrate court east of the capital Pretoria will be remanded into custody until January 25, 2017 when the case resumes.
The incident caused huge outrage and sparked the issue of racism in South Africa with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party calling it a humiliation of blackness.
The ruling ANC has also commented on the issue.
We appeal to our courts to show no mercy when dealing with racists & acts of racism, such as those exposed by #CoffinAssault case @zizikodwa
— MyANC (@MYANC) November 16, 2016
Source: Africafeeds.com
