Two black teenagers attacked in ‘apartheid-style’ attack at South African swimming pool: police charge three men with attempted murder

Three white men have been charged with crimes ranging from simple assault to attempted murder after an alleged racially motivated attack on two black boys at a public swimming pool.

The men were photographed allegedly attacking the teenagers while they tried to use the swimming pool at the Maselspoort resort in the Free State province on Christmas Day.

The three apparently tried to stop the teenagers, aged 13 and 18, from swimming, claiming the pool was reserved for white people.

In the video, believed to have been filmed by a family member and widely condemned on social media, the men appeared to shout and beat the teenagers.

It appeared that one of the men held the 18-year-old boy’s head under water while the 13-year-old boy was reportedly grabbed by the neck and pulled by his hair.

Additional security footage claims that the men try to stop the teenagers from entering the pool and that the white group leaves the water as soon as the black teenagers enter.

Johan Nel (33) and Jan Stephanus van der Westhuizen (47) were both released on caution and will appear in court in the new year on charges of assault and offences.

A third man (48) was charged with attempted murder because he allegedly held one of the boys under water.

Political parties and activists rallied outside the courthouse on Thursday and the incident drew widespread condemnation, including from President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The video appears to show the young child with two hands wrapped around his neck

Brian Nakedi, who fought apartheid in South Africa growing up, told the New York Times that his 18-year-old son was one of two boys in the now-viral videos.

“I got angry. We have to relive the pain of our children,” he said.

Mr Nakedi (58) said he and his extended family had booked three nights at the resort over Christmas. The resort, he said, is split into two, and the side of the campground is generally mostly white.

When the two boys decided to swim in the pool on that side of the property, he said they were immediately questioned by white guests, who told them they weren’t allowed there.

As the tension grew, he said the two boys left to talk to their parents and Mr. Nakedi joined them at the pool to confront the main aggressors.

Mr Nakedi claims he thought the situation had been resolved and assured the youths they could return to the pool, only for tensions to flare up again.

It appeared that one of the men held the 18-year-old boy’s head under water while the 13-year-old boy was reportedly grabbed by the neck and pulled by his hair.

The three apparently tried to stop the teenagers, aged 13 and 18, from swimming, claiming that the pool was reserved for white people.

The teenager at the center of the altercation told the publication that the man, who was believed to be holding his head under water, told him: “You are fighting for the water; now you die.’

President Ramaphosa said: “In the rule of law, we must let the investigation take its course.

“But in the rule of law we can and must also explain that racism has no place in our society and that racists cannot hide.”

“As black and white South Africans, we must stand together to condemn all manifestations of racism and attempts to explain or defend such crimes.

Separate security footage also showed the incident from a different angle

Additional security footage claims to show the men trying to stop the teenagers from entering the pool and the group of white people leaving the water once the black teenagers entered.

“Racism is not an issue that should only be fought by black South Africans,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.

Members of the Economic Freedom Fighters Party visited the resort and demanded answers from the manager, who claimed there was no racial segregation policy.

Racism remains a sensitive issue in South Africa, almost 30 years after South Africa’s transition from white minority rule, known as apartheid, to democracy.

In 2018, estate agent Vicky Momberg was sentenced to three years in prison for shouting racial slurs at a black police officer in a landmark ruling in which the first person was jailed for a racist act.

In 2020, Adam Catzavelos, a white man, was convicted of assault and given a suspended sentence after he used racial slurs in a video that went viral on social media.