Beaufort West ‘racist’ wants to erase blackness

“I WILL erase your blackness.”

These words still haunt two Beaufort West students following what they believe was a racial attack by a man captured on camera spraying them with what he claimed was “holy water” using a pesticide sprayer.

The two students, whose identity is known to the Cape Times, believe that the liquid inside the sprayer was in fact bleach.

In one of the videos that has since gone viral on social media, the man can be seen spraying the women, while they ask him to stop, desperately covering their faces with their hands folded over their heads.

“I will erase your blackness”, he says in the video taken in the street.

He is also seen in their home where some of the women were half naked. They are all seen hiding in the back, while the man is walking through their home spraying the walls with “holy water”.

One of the students told the Cape Times that they had been on their way to a nearby takeaway after midnight on Monday, when they were confronted by the man, a neighbour, who threw rubbish at them saying it belonged to them.

Recalling the incident, one of the victims said: “We took the rubbish. Then we walked past his house and he said are you giving it back to me? Then he was pushing my cousin then I said 'don’t push her, what did she do to you?'. Then the guy with the prayer came towards me and started to spray. After he sprayed me he went to my cousin and sprayed her. He (said he) was removing the blackness, he is going to change us to white. We don’t deserve to be here, this is not our town, we should go home.”

“He didn’t stop. I think his wife or girlfriend pulled me by my hair and I fell.”

The altercation went on for a while before the man with the sprayer went to their house.

“I am traumatised, we are so scared. He said it was holy water he was spraying on us to take out the demons. If it was holy water, why were our clothes damaged, why were our eyes red and itchy from the chemicals?”

The public management college students said they had been living in the town for two years and everything was fine until this incident.

Instead of reaching the takeaway, the women said they headed straight to the police station.

Approached for comment with the case number, the police said they would respond in due course.

EFF provincial treasurer and EFF Member of Parliament deployed to Beaufort West, Aishah Cassiem said she was concerned to learn that the case was allegedly withdrawn despite video evidence.

“When I called the station, I was told by the Brigadier that it was due to lack of evidence that the case was closed. He failed to give facts around the case of the female students and why it was closed despite evidence of the racial attack. He was more concerned about speaking about the ‘complainant’ (the racists) who in his view also opened a case against angry residents who showed up at their home but who later withdrew it.”

She said her party will not allow for such a case to be swept under the carpet.

“Will make sure those responsible for ensuring the safety of these young girls do so, especially when they are running to the police or courts for protection. We will not step back until justice has been served,” Cassiem said.

Beaufort West mayor Sias Reynolds called on the community to allow the law to take its course.

“I want to emphasise the importance of rules and mutual respect in creating a safe and harmonious community where people from different racial and age groups can cohabit. By adhering to these rules and showing respect for one another, individuals can express their unique identities while also ensuring a safe and free environment for everyone.

"The racial issue that arose in Beaufort West after some community members unfortunately took the law into their own hands due to others not adhering to municipal bylaws, has put us as Beaufort West community in the spotlight. This whole incident saddens me immensely. Then, showing how racial issues can be so easily misused by individuals to spike racial tension on social media, only worsens the situation.

“It needs to be highlighted that racial remarks are serious matters that require careful handling. I want to urge community members to refrain from making inflammatory remarks on social media, as this can cause harm, devastation, division and intolerance.”

Cape Times