Johannesburg - The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Wednesday condemned the actions of two white men arrested in Mpumalanga after beating up a black man and forcing him into a coffin amid threats of setting him alight.
Mpumalanga DA Chairperson Jane Sithole, MPL, said her party condemned the “racist coffin attack” and supported the complainant “Mr Rethabile Mlotshwa in Court today (Wednesday)”.
Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Martins Jackson, who allegedly shoved Mlotshwa into a coffin while threatening to kill him, abandoned their bail applications in the Middleburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, saying they feared for their lives. The pair were arrested after a video of the incident went viral on social media.
Unconfirmed reports said their employer had since fired them in absentia.
According to a statement from the DA, Sithole, in addressing supporters outside court, said: “The DA came out in our numbers, in support of Victor Rethabile Mlotshwa who is the victim of an horrific racial attack.”
Supporters of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the African National Congress (ANC) were also present in large numbers and were identifiable by their party T-shirts.
Sithole said: “There is no place in a democratic society for bigotry and racism of any form. This goes against the values and principles protected in our Constitution and against the DA’s core principles of Freedom, Fairness and Opportunity for All.”
Sithole said the fight against bigotry and racism required all South Africans to unite in condemning the acts of the few people who sought to sow division.
“We are better together, and must continue to work towards building a South Africa that is truly prosperous and united,” said Sithole.
Oosthuizen and Jackson will remain behind bars until their next appearance on January 25.
African News Agency