DAWIE Kriel, whose racist Facebook post landed him in hot water last month, has pleaded guilty to a charge of crimen injuria. He appeared at the Durban Magistrate’s Court yesterday where he made his plea.
Kriel took to social media during Diwali celebrations and aired his views over the lighting of fireworks. Following his rant and the subsequent comments that followed, the Democratic Alliance laid a charge of crimen injuria earlier this month.
Kriel called Hindus ‘idol worshippers’ and ‘devil disciples who buy them in the name of religion’.
DA KwaZulu-Natal chairperson, Haniff Hoosen, said they welcome Kriel’s guilty plea.
“We laid charges following his racist and hurtful comments. His comments undermined the dignity of so many people in South Africa and has no place in our democratic nation,” Hoosen said.
He added that he hoped that justice against Kriel would prevail. “In the fight against racism, we encourage South Africans to always condemn the attitudes of the few who seek to divide us,” Hoosen said.
Kriel is due back in court in January 2017.
