BLF duo must pay R50,000 to families of Driehoek tragedy for hate speech

VANDERBIJLPARK - The Equality Court has ruled that two Black First Land First (BLF) leaders have to apologise to all South Africans for social media comments about white children who passed away when a bridge collapsed at Driehoek High School, Vanderbijlpark. News24 reports that on Wednesday, the Equality Court ordered that BLF national spokesperson Lindsay Maasdorp and secretary Zwelakhe Dubasi pay the families of the four children who died at Hoërskool Driehoek R50 000 each. The money has to be paid within 30 days. Roydon Olckers, Marli Currie, Jandre Steyn and Marnus Nagel passed away when a concrete structure connecting buildings at the Vanderbijlpark school collapsed on February 1, 2019. Twenty other pupils were injured. After the Driehoek bridge collapse, Maasdorp, on his Twitter account @BLF_Lindsay, responded to another user, who said the children's deaths were not a sad issue. Maasdorp said: "Siyanda Gumede is correct! God is responding, why should we frown on the ancestors petition to punish the land thieves including their offspring? (sic)." Solidarity and the parents of the deceased children took them to the Equality Court. Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng also ruled that Maasdorp and Dubasi delete their posts, which he deemed hate speech. He also said they should write an apology "to all South Africans in which they acknowledge that their comments were hate speech, that they were wrong to publish or post the same, and undertake to desist in publishing or posting the said comments." PHOTO: (Supplied)