Afriforum’s youth branch at the North West University (NWU) Potchefstroom campus had made a complaint about hate speech, in the latest instance of Facebook allegedly being used as a platform to relay offensive messages following.
The complaint was made against Jason Mfusi, campus chairman of the South African Students’ Congress (Sasco), after he allegedly posted a comment on Facebook that read: “My grandfather says ‘a good farmer is a dead farmer”, reported the Beeld.
Afriforum claimed to have verified Mfusi’s comment following receiving the complaint on Sunday (February 3).
According to Kiewiet Scheppel, the university’s spokesperson, Afriforum laid the complaint with the human rights committee on the campus and it is now being investigated.
“The NWU’s human rights committee functions under the university community… they don’t have the authority to take disciplinary action, but they may make recommendations to management about possible disciplinary steps,” said Professor Herman van Schalkwyk, who is also chancellor of the Potchefstroom campus.
Professor van Schalkwyk added that NWU expects everyone to respect values and fundamental rights enshrined in the South African constitution.
This is not the first time Facebook has been used to post offensive content in South Africa, asHumanIPO reported yesterday when an individual named Zama Khumalo took to announcing on Facebook that he would be sending out an invitation to his friends for a “Big Black Braai” to celebrate the tragic drowning of 42 white children in 1985 after their school bus drove into the Westdene dam in Johannesburg.
