Racism in South Africa
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Racism in South Africa can be traced back to the earliest historical accounts of European interactions with indigenous African peoples along the coast of
Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...
. It has existed throughout several centuries in the
history of South Africa The first modern humans are believed to have inhabited South Africa more than 100,000 years ago. South Africa's prehistory has been divided into two phases based on broad patterns of technology namely the Stone Age and Iron Age. After the d ...
, dating back to the Dutch colonization of Southern Africa which started in 1652. Before universal suffrage was achieved in 1994,
White South Africans White South Africans generally refers to South Africans The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent censu ...
, especially
Afrikaners Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Cas ...
during the period of
Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
, enjoyed various legally or socially sanctioned privileges and rights which were denied to the indigenous African peoples. Examples of systematic racism over the course of South Africa's history include forced removals,
racial inequality Social inequality occurs when resources in a given society are distributed unevenly, typically through norms of allocation, that engender specific patterns along lines of socially defined categories of persons. It posses and creates gender c ...
and
segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...
, uneven resource distribution, and
disenfranchisement Disfranchisement, also called disenfranchisement, or voter disqualification is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing a person exercising the right to vote. D ...
. Racial controversies and politics remain a major phenomenon in the country.


Colonial racism

The region that would become modern-day
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
was located at a position of advantage for European merchants who were seeking to organize and carry out trade in the
East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...
, primarily
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
and
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
colonists. In 1652, the
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
founded the
Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...
at the Cape of Good Hope. The purpose of the colony was to ensure that Dutch ships sailing to and from
Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
would have a source of fresh provisions, as death by starvation claimed a large number of passengers. During the period of Dutch rule,
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
settlers (eventually known as
Boers Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this are ...
) began to migrate to the colony, instituting settlements throughout the region. The region attracted Dutch
slave traders The history of slavery spans many cultures Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and h ...
who imported slaves for wheat farming and viticulture to serve the various Dutch settlements. Many slaves escaped their masters by fleeing inland and joined existing groups such as the
Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...
or formed groups that were headed by warlords such as those of Bloem, Kok and Barends families. By the late 18th century, Arabs and European merchants traded beads, brass, cloth, alcohol and firearms in return for slaves, ivory, gold, wax, cattle and skins. The profits from these trade encouraged the warlords to hunt elephants and slaves by raiding the local communities such as Rolong, Tlhaping, Huruthshe and Ngwaketse. During the
Mfecane The Mfecane ( isiZulu, Zulu pronunciation: ̩fɛˈkǀaːne, also known by the Sesotho names Difaqane or Lifaqane (all meaning "crushing, scattering, forced dispersal, forced migration") is a historical period of heightened military conflict ...
, the Zulu under
Shaka Shaka kaSenzangakhona ( – 22 September 1828), also known as Shaka Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that ...
overran many smaller tribes and enslaved them. Many Indians were brought to the colony as slaves. The practice of importing slaves from India stretches back to the 1600s when the Dutch bought non-Muslim slaves from various kingdoms of India who were ruled by Muslims. By the early part of the 18th century, 80% of the slaves were South Asians who were not just from the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
, but also those South Asians who were living in South-East Asian regions such as
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...
. A slave-trading station was established in
Delagoa Bay Maputo Bay ( pt, Baía de Maputo), formerly also known as Delagoa Bay from ''Baía da Lagoa'' in Portuguese, is an inlet of the Indian Ocean on the coast of Mozambique, between 25° 40' and 26° 20' S, with a length from north to south of over 90&n ...
(present-day Maputo) in 1721, but was abandoned in 1731. Between 1731 and 1765 many Madagascan slaves were bought from
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
. The Dutch colonial law defined slaves as property that could be traded, bought and sold, a form of slavery known as '
chattel slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
'. There are many examples of racism and discriminatory practices during the colonial period such as whipping, starvation, being forced to work for long hours, laborers having to carry passes, being subject to high taxation, not being able to walk on the sidewalks, banned from living, entering or working in certain areas such as the Orange Free State. Other examples include allocation of rations during the
Siege of Ladysmith The siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 2 November 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal. Background As war with the Boer republics appeared likely in June 1899, the War Offic ...
. The word " Kaffir" was used with derogatory connotations during the period of European colonial rule until the early 20th century.


Non-racialism in the Cape Colony

From 1853, the
Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...
, known now as the
Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
, had a representative democracy that granted suffrage to all men regardless of colour. However, beginning in 1887, the British colonialists began to change voting laws in order to impede black votes.


Apartheid racism

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
(Afrikaans pronunciation: ; an Afrikaans word meaning "separateness", or "the state of being apart", literally "apart-hood") was a system of racial segregation in South Africa enforced through legislation by the National Party (NP), the governing party from 1948 to 1994. Under apartheid, the rights, associations, and movements of the majority black inhabitants and other ethnic groups were curtailed, and white minority rule was maintained. Apartheid was developed after World War II by the Afrikaner-dominated National Party and Broederbond organizations. The ideology was also enforced in South West Africa, which was administered by South Africa under a League of Nations mandate (revoked in 1966 via United Nations Resolution 2145), until it gained independence as Namibia in 1990. By extension, the term is currently used for forms of systematic segregation established by the state authority in a country against the social and civil rights of a certain group of citizens due to ethnic prejudices. The Indian community has been subject to Zulu racist attacks dating back to the arrival of indentured labor in South Africa which ultimately resulted in the
Durban Riots The Durban riots were an anti-Indian riot that took place between 13–15 January 1949, primarily by Black South Africans targeting South African Indians in Durban, South Africa. It was the second deadliest massacre during apartheid. Thursday ...
of 1949 followed by riots in 1985 where homes for 1500 Indians were set on fire.


Governmental racism under Apartheid

The first example of apartheid legislation was the '' Population Registration Act''. This act was the first to force citizens to be registered under their race, and this set the stage for later racial tension. One example of apartheid legislation was the ''
Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act The Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act, 1959 (Act No. 46 of 1959, commenced 19 June; subsequently renamed the Promotion of Black Self-government Act, 1959 and later the Representation between the Republic of South Africa and Self-governing T ...
'', which was passed into law in 1959. This law resulted in forced relocation of Black people reserving much less land for the Black citizens to live, despite making up a large majority of the population. The way the South African government did this at the time was by reserving off pieces of land called
Bantustans A Bantustan (also known as Bantu homeland, black homeland, black state or simply homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party administration of South Africa set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa (now ...
, and forcing the Black South Africans on to these pieces of land. There were 10 different Bantustans in total, each for separate "ethnic groups". Once they moved on to these lands, the Black South Africans lost their rights as South Africans, and were forced to become permanent residents of the reserves. They were expected to run their own governments once they had arrived. Economic conditions on these lands were not satisfactory for the people there, as the South African government put minimal effort policy-wise into developing these regions economically. Usually , residents of Bantustans would have to commute hours by bus or train to industrial zones on the border of their Bantustan. Even though the South African Government spent much money towards trying to keep the Bantustans viable, the local governments were still plagued by corruption, so normal people rarely felt the effects of the government money. In the 1970s four of these Bantustans became independent and separated entirely from the South African government, and this was the intent of the Bantustans. To keep all the Black citizens out from South Africa. Another example of restricting legislation in South Africa is the ''Natives (Abolition of Passes and Coordination of Documents) Act of 1952''. This act forced Black South African citizens to carry their passbooks with them at all times. If someone was found without their passbook, they could be arrested for no reason other than that. This caused immense anger within the Black community, which would eventually spark the defiance campaign of 1952. The oppressive nature of these apartheid laws sparked some resistance within the black South African community, and several oppositional groups were formed. One of these groups that emerged was the ANC (
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...
), a group which eventually became involved in many resistance activities. One movement the ANC got involved in was a defiance campaign in the Black suburb of Sharpeville. This eventually led to the
Sharpeville massacre The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960 at the police station in the township of Sharpeville in the then Transvaal Province of the then Union of South Africa (today part of Gauteng). After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd o ...
, where 69 Black South Africans were killed, and 180 more were injured. This event resulted in the bloodiest apartheid protest that South Africa would see, and in the moment the Black South African community was horrified. In response, the following week was full of demonstrations, protests and marches. Because of this, the South African government saw fit to declare a state of emergency, and arrested thousands of people who had been protesting. Numbers approached 10,000 people by May, and many of these people were not released for months afterwards. Also in the fallout of the Sharpeville massacre, the South African government banned any organisations that were considered a threat to public safety or public order. This included organisations such as the ANC and the PAC (another organisation that was committed to activism for Black South Africans through peaceful protesting). Under apartheid, black women were affected to an extreme degree due to discriminatory racial and gender laws. There were not many opportunities for women to become political leaders, as many organisations allowed male membership only, so not many women did get very involved with politics. There were several organizations that let women join, or had entirely separate organizations there for women to join, one such being the ANCWL or ANC Women's League. In a protest of the '' Natives (Abolition of Passes and Coordination of Documents) Act of 1952'' as mentioned above and several other pieces of legislation, many women participated in movements against the government for the first time in the form of the Defiance campaign. The defiance campaign was a movement organized in part by the ANC because of new apartheid legislation from the government. Women were not the only people to take part in this campaign, but the inclusion of women is noteworthy because this was the first campaign to see major participation from women. The movement itself involved thousands of Black citizens doing nonviolent things that would normally be considered as civil disobedience, such as going into areas that only White people were allowed into, or burning their pass books. The idea behind the movement, was that if enough Black people flooded the South African prison and judicial system, then it would force the government to reform the apartheid laws. Thousands of people were arrested in a matter of months, but the campaign did not accomplish its goal of achieving radical change. However, it did capture the attention of the global community, and that of the United Nations. In time the UN would launch an investigation into the apartheid policy. In the 1980s, resistance to apartheid became extreme. The United Democratic Front was formed in order to try and unite people all over to join in the fight against government oppression. The leader of the front,
Allan Boesak Allan Aubrey Boesak (born 23 February 1946) is a South African Dutch Reformed Church cleric and politician and anti-apartheid activist. He was sentenced to prison for fraud in 1999 but was subsequently granted an official pardon and reinstated ...
, called for organizations all over South Africa to help him. This included churches, civic associations, trade unions, student organizations, and sports bodies. The UDF became extremely popular among the black community, and helped unite everyone who was fighting for equality, something that had not happened in the past. The government's response was to declare another national emergency, and again South Africa saw thousands of arrests and hundreds of killings. However by 1990, the burden of public violence was too much. The government began losing its tight grip on the country, and eventually the state president, F.W. de Klerk, decided that reform was absolutely necessary.


Healthcare

The government's provision of public healthcare was far more comprehensive in white areas, compromising the ability of black people to access such services, and a growing for-profit private healthcare sector among the white population further exacerbated this racial disparity. In 1987, white areas had one dentist per 2,000 residents, and black areas had one per 2,000,000. In 1990, white areas had one doctor per 900 residents, and black areas had one per 4,100. Benatar in
The New England Journal of Medicine ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals as well as the oldest continuously published one. Hi ...
used three health outcome statistics to demonstrate the inequality in healthcare between white and black South Africans at the end of Apartheid: in 1990, the mortality rate was 7.4 per 1000 live births among white people, and 48.3 per 1000 among black people; infectious diseases accounted for 13 percent of all deaths among black people, and only 2 percent among white people; and life expectancy at birth was 60 years and 67 years for black male infants and female infants respectively, compared to 69 years and 76 years respectively for white infants.


Post-Apartheid racism

Racial populism and anti-minority sentiment is an increasing worry in post-Apartheid South Africa. Although Apartheid was abolished in South Africa in 1991, and overt racism against Black people is on the decline, some argue
institutional racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, health ...
is still common in South Africa. Milton Shain, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Cape Town, noted that Indian, Coloured and White minorities are increasingly scapegoated by the ANC "in an attempt to cement cracks among the majority (insiders) and paper over class divisions.
Afrobarometer The Afrobarometer is a pan-African, independent, non-partisan research network that measures public attitudes on economic, political, and social matters in Africa. Its secretariat headquarters are in Accra, Ghana, registered as a limited company ...
research has indicated that perceptions of discrimination have increased significantly amongst citizens from minority race groups since 2011, especially among those who are of Indian background. Some believe the ANC's legally mandated racial representation is racist legislation. In June 2021, Democratic Alliance politician
Helen Zille Otta Helene Maree (''née'' Zille ; born 9 March 1951), known as Helen Zille, is a South African politician. She has served as the Chairperson of the Federal Council of the Democratic Alliance since 20 October 2019. From 2009 until 2019, she w ...
courted controversy when she commented that "There are more racist laws today than there were under apartheid". Dr. Duncan Du Bois, a historian and political analyst, supported Helen Zille's assertion. He pointed out that, based on research by political analyst James Myburgh, the pro-Apartheid National Party government passed 59 pieces of race-based legislation over a period of seventy years, whereas the post-Apartheid government led by the ANC had passed 90 laws with racial representivity mandates over a smaller time period of 25 years. James Myburgh himself considered Helen Zille's comments "hyperbolic" but "not (far) wrong". Myburgh believes that modern South Africa is in reality "one racial nationalism ..replacing another". He argues that because this "is a morally discomforting
dea The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...
for outsiders", "as a result much Western analysis of South Africa
urns An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...
a blind eye to the ... implementation of the ANC's historic racial nationalist agenda." The South African Institute for Race Relations also considers the ANC to be pursuing a Black nationalist agenda, and believes that this pursuit endangers not only ethnic minorities but also immigrants.


Racism against Black Africans

In 2019, a
University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
report by an independent commission looked into allegations that institutional practices were racist. The commission found "systematic suppression of Black excellence in recent years" at the university. Submissions to the commission from students, staff and the public were "rife with stories of better qualified Black academics being passed over for employment and promotion in favour of White academics". The report concluded that racism exists at UCT, "abetted by poor management systems" which "discriminate on a racial basis". Black staff members remain under-represented in the university's senior decision-making bodies. Ahmed Essop, an education specialist at the University of Johannesburg, co-authored a 2008 report for the country's education department that concluded that racism and sexism are pervasive in the nation's institutions. A group of White men allegedly verbally abused and humiliated staff at a restaurant near Stellenbosch. In response to this a Black student claimed their response was that anyone who did not speak Afrikaans was an alien in the area. He said that "They were whistling at them like they were whistling tdogs. They even jumped over the counter and they were patting them like they were dogs. After deciding to leave the restaurant the three White men and four other young White men allegedly followed him outside and proceeded to hit him. Thabang Mosiako, a Black athlete, had his head smashed onto a pavement at a bus stop. The attack was allegedly performed by a group of White students who Moisiako said attacked him when he criticised their racist remarks to another man. The attack was allegedly racially motivated and caused Moisiako to be hospitalised due to his injuries. A Black petrol attendant was attacked in an apparent racially-fuelled attack that was caught on camera. The incident began when the petrol attendant asked two White men not to smoke next to the petrol pumps, then later asked them to move to another pump because the one they were using did not have the grade of petrol they needed. The men then began to retaliate with racial slurs then the altercation soon escalated into a physical fight, which saw over four White men attacking the petrol attendant before his colleagues and eventually police intervened. Mr. Nathan Maluleke, a sixty-year old golf instructor was brutally attacked with a golf club in 2013 and this vicious assault left him with head injuries and fighting for his life in hospital. The incident started over racial abuse and escalated into an attack. Mr Maluleke had noticed a group that was making a lot of noise, using vulgar language and the K-word being used repeatedly, he put his golf bag in the boot of his car, approached the woman walking behind two young men in the group, apparently the woman using the language, to ask her to tone it down as the language being used was not good for the integrity of the place and was generally offensive, as he was speaking to the woman, one of the two men, Matthew van der Walt, turned back and started attacking Maluleke. He ended up on the ground bleeding after being hit over the head with a golf club, van der Walt admitted to have continued hitting him and punching him while on the ground as he showed off his hands to other people. A 38-year-old man, Ron Rambebu, was attacked and called a k-word at a petrol station while he was sitting in his car on Kingfisher Road in Horizon Park, Roodeport, on the West Rand. In the video, the father of three is seen being approached by the attacker. It does not seem like any words are exchanged before the attacker punches Rambebu multiple times through the vehicle's window. Rambebu does not appear to be retaliating during the attack but he attempts to drive off before parking his vehicle and chasing his attacker with a spanner. His attacker is then seen boarding a white Ford Mustang and driving off with his associate. Samora Mangesi, a South African entertainment news broadcaster and presenter, came across a car accident. Mangesi inquired after the status of the passengers, to which inquiry he and his passengers were called "monkey" and "black bitches". A heated argument ensued, and someone came up behind Mangesi and hit him on the head with an unknown object. He ended up in hospital. The
South African Human Rights Commission The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) was inaugurated in October 1995 as an independent chapter nine institution. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitution by way of the Human Rights Commission Act of 1994. Commissioner ...
found a public school guilty of hate speech towards Black and mixed-race pupils. After an 18-month investigation, staff and the head teacher were found to have exposed pupils to dehumanising and racist treatment. The Free State Department of Education, responsible for the school, says it will study the report and would hold its own investigation before taking any potential disciplinary action. In 2008, Johan Nel, a white man armed himself with a rifle and proceeded to go to a community of Skierlik, North West, then went on a killing spree. On a Monday afternoon while most Skierlik inhabitants were at work, Johan dressed in camouflage fatigues walked down a dirt road in an informal settlement and randomly started shooting at people with a hunting rifle while shouting racist invective. He killed three people and severely injured another 11 people, and disappeared onto a nearby farm.


Penny Sparrow

In January 2016, Penny Sparrow, a White woman who lived in the coastal city of Durban, compared littering black beachgoers to monkeys. She consequently apologised for her remarks, but defended them as being taken out of context. She faced various legal consequences: the Equality Court considered Sparrow's words to be hate speech in terms of section 10 of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, and fined her R150 000; and in the magistrate's court, she was found guilty of crimen iniuria, fined R5000, and sentenced to two years in prison. Professor ME Marais of the University of the Free State considers the case of
crimen injuria ''Crimen injuria'' is a crime under South African common law, defined to be the act of "unlawfully, intentionally and seriously impairing the dignity of another." Although difficult to precisely define, the crime is used in the prosecution of ce ...
against Sparrow to be unconstitutional, since her comments targeted a group and not an individual; ''crimen injuria'' presupposes that the target is an individual.


Coffin case

Two White men, Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Jackson, in 2016 were put behind bars for a racially motivated assault on a black man after they alleged he had trespassed, in 2019 their sentences and conviction was adjusted finding the pair guilty of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and kidnapping. Jackson was also sentenced for defeating the ends of justice for burning evidence.


Vicki Momberg

Vicki Momberg, a White woman, was sentenced to three years in prison and one suspended on four counts of crimen injuria for racist remarks she made to a Black police officer in Johannesburg. She was the victim of a smash and grab incident and a Black police officer approached her to assist her. She responded by verbally abusing him and making racial remarks about the "low caliber of black people in Johannesburg" and used the derogatory K-word 48 times, which was recorded on video. She received a two-year prison sentence, and an additional, suspended one-year prison sentence.


Racism against White Africans

Democratic Alliance MP Gwen Ngwenya has accused South Africans of "hypocrisy and dishonesty of treating black South Africans as the victims", noting that racism aimed at white people elicits little reaction from the populace. A comparative study by trade union Solidarity confirmed that South African media give more attention to white-on-black racism; it also found that the
South African Human Rights Commission The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) was inaugurated in October 1995 as an independent chapter nine institution. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitution by way of the Human Rights Commission Act of 1994. Commissioner ...
is much more likely to self-initiate investigations into white-on-black racism, and is more lenient in cases of black-on-white racism. The F.W. de Klerk Foundation in 2016 claimed "Black South Africans are far more violent and racist towards their White compatriots than vice versa" and appealed to the
South African Human Rights Commission The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) was inaugurated in October 1995 as an independent chapter nine institution. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitution by way of the Human Rights Commission Act of 1994. Commissioner ...
to intervene on the issue of racism and hate speech against white South Africans. Its complaint to the commission detailed "45 social media postings that incite extreme violence against White South Africans." The foundation also said "an analysis of Facebook and Twitter messages shows that by far the most virulent and dangerous racism – expressed in the most extreme and violent language – has come from disaffected Black South Africans. The messages are replete with threats to kill all whites – including children; to rape white women or to expel all whites from South Africa."


Coligny riots

Following an alleged killing of a black person by two white people, the black community of Coligny targeted for destruction mostly white businesses and properties but also those of other minorities in the area.


Anti-white hate-speech

A
Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
government official, Velaphi Khumalo, in 2016 stated on Facebook "White people in South Africa deserve to be hacked and killed like Jews. ouhave the same venom. Look at Palestine. oumust be urntalive and skinned and your ffspringused as garden fertiliser". A complaint was lodged at the
Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...
and a charge of
crimen injuria ''Crimen injuria'' is a crime under South African common law, defined to be the act of "unlawfully, intentionally and seriously impairing the dignity of another." Although difficult to precisely define, the crime is used in the prosecution of ce ...
was laid at the Equality Court, and in October 2018, was found guilty of hate speech by the Court, for which he was only ordered to issue an apology. In March 2018, a screenshot depicting
EFF EFF or eff may refer to: Politics * Economic Freedom Fighters, a South African communist political party * Economic Freedom Fund, an American political organization * Election Fighting Fund, a British suffragist organization supporting the ear ...
Ekurhuleni The City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of the East Rand region of Gauteng. The municipality itself is a large suburban region east of Johannesburg. The name ''Ekurhuleni'' m ...
leader Mampuru Mampuru calling for racial violence on Facebook began to circulate on social media. The post read "We need to unite as black People, there are less than 5 million whites in South Africa vs 45 million of us. We can kill all this white within two weeks. We have the army and the police. If those who are killing farmers can do it what are you waiting for. Shoot the boer, kill the farmer." ic Mampuru claims the screenshot was fabricated in an attempt to discredit the EFF, further adding that "Without white people in the country‚ we are not going to have a Rainbow Nation." After 76-year-old White Professor Cobus Naude was murdered in 2018, Black senior
SANDF The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Ministe ...
officer Major M.V. Mohlala posted a comment on Facebook in reaction to Naude's murder, stating "It is your turn now, white people… eshould have had his eyes and tongue cut out so that the faces of his attackers would be the last thing he sees". Mohlala received a warning of potential future disciplinary action by the SANDF. Subsequently Ernst Roets of
AfriForum AfriForum is a South African non-governmental organisation focused mainly on the interests of Afrikaners, a subgroup of the country's white population. AfriForum has been frequently described as a white nationalist, alt-right, and Afrikaner natio ...
contrasted Mohlala's punishment against that of convicted white racist Vicki Momberg, stating "The inconsistency being applied in this country regarding minorities has reached the level of absurdity... The reality in South Africa is that a white person who insults a black person goes to prison, while a senior officer in the defence force who says white people's eyes and tongues must be stabbed out is simply asked nicely not to repeat it." A photograph emerged of a
University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
student who wore a shirt which read "Kill All Whites" in a residence dining hall during early-2016. The university later identified the wearer as Slovo Magida and reported the matter to the SAPS and HRC. During a parliamentary debate on racism, Pieter Mulder of the FF+ read out the contents of the shirt, to which some MPs shouted "Yes! Yes!". As of 2018 no further action against Magida has been taken. During April 2018, a
Judicial Services Commission The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
tribunal found that 'drunk judge' Nkola Motala's racist comments could justify his removal as a judge. Motala crashed into a wall whilst driving under the influence of alcohol in 2007. After the accident Motala swore at a white onlooker, Richard Baird, and referred to him as a 'boer'.
Julius Malema Julius Sello Malema (born 3 March 1981) is a South African politician and activist who is a Member of Parliament and the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a left-wing party which he founded in 2013. He was formerly the President of ...
leader of the third-largest party Economic Freedom Fighters stated at a political rally in 2016 that "we he EFFare not calling for the slaughter of
white people White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...
‚ at least for now". When asked for comment by a news agency, the ANC spokesperson, Zizi Kodwa stated that there will be no comment from the ANC, as " alemawas addressing his own party supporters." This received backlash from many South Africans of all races. While still the ANCYL leader, Malema was taken to the
Equality Court The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, 2000 (PEPUDA or the Equality Act, Act No. 4 of 2000) is a comprehensive South African anti-discrimination law. It prohibits unfair discrimination by the government and by pri ...
by
AfriForum AfriForum is a South African non-governmental organisation focused mainly on the interests of Afrikaners, a subgroup of the country's white population. AfriForum has been frequently described as a white nationalist, alt-right, and Afrikaner natio ...
for repeatedly singing "
dubul' ibhunu Dubul' ibhunu, translated as shoot the Boer or kill the Boer, is a South African song. It is sung in Xhosa and Zulu. Critics argue that the song celebrates violence against the white South Africans whereas supporters of the song claim that it is ...
", which literally translate as "shoot the boer hite farmer" This was sung as a struggle (against Apartheid) song in context. At another political rally in 2018 he stated ''"Go after a white Man... We are cutting the throat of whiteness."'' This was in reference to the removal of Athol Trollip, a white mayor, from office in Port Elizabeth''"'' The opposition Democratic Alliance have accused the EFF leader of racism. In September 2018, Black First Land First (BLF) Spokesperson Lyndsay Maasdorp told '' The Citizen'' reporter Daniel Friedman that as a white person his existence is "a crime". Maasdorp also posted on his now-suspended Twitter account, in 2018, "I have aspirations to kill white people, and this must be achieved!". In December 2018, in response to comments made by
Johann Rupert Johann Peter Rupert (born 1 June 1950) is a South African billionaire businessman, who is the eldest son of business tycoon Anton Rupert and his wife Huberte. He is the chairman of the Swiss-based luxury-goods company Richemont and the South Af ...
in support of the South African
taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...
industry, Mngxitama asserted at a BLF rally that "For each one person that is being killed by the taxi industry, we will kill five white people", giving rise to the BLF slogan "''1:5''". Mngxitama went on to say, "You kill one of us, we will kill five of you. We will kill their children, we will kill their women, we will kill anything that we find on our way." The comments were criticized by many, including the
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...
, with an ANC spokesperson claiming that " ngxitama'scomments clearly incite violence in South Africa" and urged the
South African Human Rights Commission The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) was inaugurated in October 1995 as an independent chapter nine institution. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitution by way of the Human Rights Commission Act of 1994. Commissioner ...
to investigate. The Congress of the People and Democratic Alliance also criticized the statements and filed criminal charges against Mngxitama for incitement of violence. Mngxitama's
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account was also suspended as a result. In response, the BLF’s deputy president, Zanele Lwana, responded that Mngxitama's comments were made in the context of self defence and "The only sin committed by BLF president is defending black people. President Mngxitama correctly stated that for every one black life taken, five whites would be taken!" In March 2022 the Equality Court of South Africa ordered (BLF) members Lindsay Maasdorp and Zwelakhe Dubasi to pay R200,000 in damages and make a public apology for “celebrat ngthe tragic deaths” of four children on social media in statements that were judged to be hate speech. The four children, all of whom were white, died when a walkway collapsed at Hoërskool Driehoek,
Vanderbijlpark Vanderbijlpark is an industrial town with approximately 95 000 inhabitants, situated on the Vaal River in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa. The city is named after Hendrik van der Bijl, an electrical engineer and industrialist. Va ...
. The Black First Land First party doesn't let White people to be allowed in the party.


Racism against Asian Africans

There are over 1.2 million South Africans of Indian descent, with the majority being situated in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. In 2015, Phumlani Mfeka, a KwaZulu-Natal businessman and the spokesman for the radical Mazibuye African Forum tweeted "A good Indian is a dead Indian". He published a letter in the city press claiming that South Africans of Indian origin have no right to citizenship and property in South Africa. Mfeka also claimed there is a "ticking time bomb of a deadly confrontation" between Africans and Indians in KwaZulu-Natal. The South African court barred him from making anti-Indian remarks in Nov 2015. In 2017, political leader
Julius Malema Julius Sello Malema (born 3 March 1981) is a South African politician and activist who is a Member of Parliament and the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a left-wing party which he founded in 2013. He was formerly the President of ...
stated during a rally in KwaZulu-Natal "They are ill-treating our people. They are worse than Afrikaners were. This is not an anti-Indian statement, it's the truth. Indians who own shops don't pay our people, but they give them food parcels," and accused local politicians of being in the pockets of Indian businesspeople. Malema also said that the success of Indian businesses in the province was due to their strategies of exploitation and monopolisation of the economy. Malema also referred to Indians in 2011 as '
coolie A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent. The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...
s' (which is considered a strongly offensive pejorative term in contemporary South Africa). Complaints of attacks on the ethnic Chinese community on social media have led to charges being filed against certain white individuals. The Chinese Association in
Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
planned to also file a complaint with the
South African Human Rights Commission The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) was inaugurated in October 1995 as an independent chapter nine institution. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitution by way of the Human Rights Commission Act of 1994. Commissioner ...
.


Racism against Jewish Africans

Vigilante group PAGAD is believed to be responsible for bombings targeted at synagogues between 1998-2000. PAGAD's leaders became known for anti-semitic statements. A 1997 incendiary bomb attack on a
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
ish bookshop owner was found by police to have been committed with the same material PAGAD used in other attacks. In May 1998 Radio 786, a Cape community radio station run by a Muslim organisation and aimed at Muslims, broadcast a programme that denied the Holocaust and engaged in anti-Semitic stereotypes, which the South African Jewish Board of Deputies subsequently reported as hate speech. Radio 786 refused to apologise for the broadcast. Although an out-of-court settlement was eventually reached, the Supreme Court of Appeal found that that complaint had to be referred anew to the
Independent Communications Authority of South Africa The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is an independent regulatory body of the South African government, established in 2000 by the ICASA Act to regulate both the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors in the publ ...
. The matter was finally resolved sixteen years later, when the two parties released a joint statement, accepting that the programme had caused offence to the Jewish community but that no offence had been intended by the Muslims station. The 2001 Durban Conference against Racism (CAR) meeting was marked by disagreements over the Middle East and the legacy of slavery, and coincided with harsh criticism and demonstrations directed at Israel at a parallel conference of non-governmental organisations. Canada, followed by the U.S. and Israel walked out midway through the 2001 conference over a draft resolution that, in their opinion, singled out Israel for criticism and likened
Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
to racism. In 2009 South Africa's deputy foreign minister Fatima Hajaig claimed that "Jewish money controls America and most Western countries." Her comments prompted criticism by Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and a reported "dressing down" by President Kgalema Motlanthe. She subsequently apologised on two occasions for her remarks. In 2013, ANC Western Cape leader Marius Fransman claimed 98% of land and property owners in Cape Town are "white" and "Jewish". The allegation turned out to be false.


See also

*
Cape Qualified Franchise The Cape Qualified Franchise was the system of non-racial franchise that was adhered to in the Cape Colony, and in the Cape Province in the early years of the Union of South Africa. Qualifications for the right to vote at parliamentary elections ...
* Intra-African migration *
Xenophobia in South Africa Prior to 1994, immigrants from elsewhere faced discrimination and even violence in South Africa. After majority rule in 1994, contrary to expectations, the incidence of xenophobia increased. Between 2000 and March 2008, at least 67 people died ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Racism In Africa
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...