The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) will investigate the WhatsApp voice note of a West Rand farmer who made racial slurs and threatened to kill black people after a robbery at his house last month.
The commission’s acting provincial manager, Zamantungwa Mbeki, said the commission had not received any complaints about the message.
“The commission is assessing the matter in line with its complaints-handling procedure. The commission responds to prima facie hate speech in one of two ways, namely to conduct an investigation or to bring court proceedings. The assessment will determine the action taken by the commission,” he said.
“The consequences will be determined based on the outcome of the assessment.”
On Christmas Eve, Abel Erasmus “mistakenly” sent a racist voice note where he repeatedly referred to black people as “houtkop k*****s”. The recording was sent to a WhatsApp group known as “Koop and Verkoop” with more than 200 members of the farming community of Vleikop, Randfontein.
In the message that made the rounds earlier this week, Erasmus threatened to shoot “k******s” in their private parts if they ever set foot on his property again. He blamed the threat on malaria medication he says he was taking at the time.
Erasmus posted the offensive voice note after his house was broken into while he was in Zambia where he works as a part-time electrical engineer.
Hardly a month before, a woman now known as the pitbull racist, also posted a racist voice note in a community WhatsApp group calling for black people to be killed and their genitals removed.
Belinda Magor's voice note was shared in the WhatsApp group for pitbull owners called Pitbulls Be My Voice. The group has over 300 members from different races across the country.
Her outburst came during a discussion about the spate of attacks by pitbulls on children in past weeks, which led to some people calling for the total ban of the breed as pets.
Following an investigation by the commission, Magor was issued a letter demanding a public apology. She was later arrested on a charge of crimen injuria. She blamed her outburst on diabetic medication she had been taking. She is due back in court later this year.
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