CCTV footage released on social media of the events leading up to the alleged racist attack at Maselspoort Resort in Bloemfontein on Christmas Day has added yet another dimension to the serious incident.
This as a suspect accused of attempted murder in the incident is due to appear in court on Thursday, after the first two suspects appeared in court on Wednesday on charges of attempted murder.
The initial cell phone footage of the incident has drawn widespread condemnation of racism, and has even led to the business premises of one of the suspects being vandalised.
Also Read: WATCH: ‘Racists leave!’ – Alleged Maselspoort attacker’s business walls defaced by Azapo
This video is no longer available.
The emergence of the CCTV footage adds some context to the events leading up to the incident, and though there is no audio, it clearly shows a group of white adults first preventing the two teenage boys from entering the pool, and then reacting in a questionable manner once the boys do manage to get into the water.
In the first of four videos posted on social media, a group of white people are casually playing in the water, until one of them goes to the gate of the pool, closes it, and seemingly guards it.
The two black teenagers approach the gate and they appear to argue with the white man as he prevents them from entering the pool.
The two teenagers then leave but seemingly jump the fence on the other side of the pool, as they somehow manage to find their way into the water.
In the second video, one of the boys gets into the pool and all the white people immediately scatter and jump out of the pool, except for one boy who appears oblivious to all the drama.
ALSO READ: Maselspoort Resort: Charges upgraded to attempted murder
In the third video, one of the men approach the young boy in the water, leans over, and slaps the teenager. The boy gets out and is pushed back into the pool.
The second teenager attempts to defend his brother, but is grabbed by the neck and, before a melee ensues and several grown men start to physically assault the boy.
Another man jumped into the pool with one of the boys and submerged his head into the water.
The release of the footage puts a massive dent into the claims by chairman of the Taxpayers Union of South Africa Willem Petzer, who took to Twitter earlier this week claiming sources told him the teenagers had pushed a 3-year-old in the pool, leading to the scuffle.
Also Read: UPDATE: Maselspoort Resort: Is there more to the alleged racial attack?
Petzer alleged the two teens returned with a much bigger group of day visitors, including their sister, who filmed the video.
“The group began to harass the father of the 3-year-old, calling him white trash, and a racist. The father again asked them to leave, but they refused.
There is no toddler visible in the CCTV footage, nor does it show the large crowd of black people the boys ostensibly recruited when returning to the pool to force their way in.
. The family of the boy were at the park next to the pool. The boy then began swearing at the man when the man pushed the boy into the pool. The sister then began filming and it was chaos,” she alleged.
Another alleged eyewitness to the drama posted the below account of what happened when the toddler was allegedly pushed into the water earlier in the day.
“Yes everyone gets angry when someone cuss[es] you, but then you have to decide to be the better person and walk away…,” she said in a later social media post.
NOW READ: Maselspoort attack: Blatant racists must be ‘punished severely’
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