Three charged in ‘racist’ pool brawl in Bloemfontein

In a racially fraught case that has horrified the nation, a white South African man charged with attempted murder for his alleged role in an incident with two black youths was released on bond on Thursday.

A video captured on Christmas Day showed three middle-aged white men attempting to choke, slap, and submerge the heads of two youngsters in a swimming pool at a Bloemfontein, South Africa, holiday resort.

The fight allegedly erupted after the guys prevented the cousins from using the pool on the grounds that it was reserved for resort guests.

As in the apartheid era, the guys implied that the facility was for whites exclusively, according to some witnesses.

Bloemfontein is located in Free State, an area with a history of racial strife.

South Africa is still severely divided along racial lines over three decades after Nelson Mandela came to power promising national healing after the end of white minority apartheid rule.

Jacobus Johannes Classen appeared in court in Bloemfontein and was released on bail, according to a statement posted by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on Thursday.

He was charged with attempted murder, assault, and crimen injuria, which is the use of obscene or racially inappropriate language to cause shame.

The two other defendants charged with assault appeared in court on Wednesday and were freed with a warning, according to the NPA. The hearing has been delayed until January 25.

The father of one of the boys, Brian Nakedi, told national broadcaster SABC that the youngsters requested for his assistance because “old adult white males are preventing them from swimming.”

ACCUSSED DISPUTING CHARGES

The guys “claimed there was a misunderstanding” since they were unaware that the boys had also made reservations at the resort, and the situation looked to be resolved, he added.

“As we were leaving, though, the boys arrived and attempted to swim; this is when the fight broke out.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa stated on Tuesday that it is regrettable that adults who interact with adolescents turn to violence with such frightening ease.

“We must unite to rid our culture of the violence seen in footage of the incident at the Free State resort, regardless of whether such violence is motivated by race,” he continued.