Cape Town – The transporting of a four-month pregnant farmworker inside a “cage” (sheep pen) in the back of a bakkie has been strongly condemned as “extremely offensive”.
The photograph of Linda Senekal, 27, from Zuurfontein farm near Cradock, sitting inside the enclosure – which was taken by a roadside worker on Tuesday – caused outrage when it was shared on social media on Thursday.
South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) spokesperson Gail Smith said the commission had started investigating racism allegations, and would interview Senekal and the driver of the Isuzu bakkie, Johan Erasmus.
“We are aware of the incident and we are investigating. It is a matter of concern to us,” said Smith, before urging South Africans of all races to be tolerant of one another.
She said this case was not unique as there were “many other similar cases” the commission was investigating.
Cradock police station spokesperson Louis Stone said that because Senekal had not laid a complaint, police would not investigate.
Erasmus’s wife Leta said Senekal voluntarily sat inside the cage after asking Erasmus for a lift to town, about 60km away. “She asked for a lift and insisted to sit at the back of the bakkie. I only see good in this. It’s safe open (sic),” she said.
“We have helped transport many people to town, and they sit inside the cage on their own will.”
Senekal told the Cape Times she insisted on sitting in the back of the bakkie as “it was hot” in the front passenger seat.
“I sat inside the cage voluntarily, I was not forced. Space at the back (of the bakkie) was not enough, and it was risky sitting on the sides. I stayed inside the cage for my own safety, and it was not locked,” said Senekal.
But ANC provincial deputy secretary Thandi Makasi said: “This is extremely offensive, and the fact that Erasmus says Linda got into the cage on her free will does not only exacerbate the offence, but reflects this essential need to understand the nature of racism in order to recognise and counter it.”
She said reconciliation in South Africa “was not going to forever depend on black people’s endless patience, unoffended, and gentle with the unyielding attitudes of the other race”.
“Racism is destructive. It disempowers people by devaluing their identity.
‘‘It destroys community cohesion and creates divisions in society.
“It is the opposite of the democratic principle of equality and the right of all people to be treated fairly,” said Makasi.
She added that Erasmus, along with those who remain blind to “cruel acts of racism”, must get rid of the stereotypes about black people so that mosaic experiences can be shared.