Women lay complaints against ex-classmate over racist post

FOLLOWING shocking racial slurs on Facebook, two young women have laid crimen injuria complaints against the alleged offender.

Sharni Ngakane and Siviwe Mhlana, both 22 – based in Pretoria and Grahamstown respectively – laid the complaints over the weekend.

The complaints were laid against their former Pearson High school fellow pupil Wayne Vorster.

The women allege that Vorster posted violent and racist remarks on Facebook in response to a post carrying the #MenareTrash hashtag.

The Facebook response, posted from Vorster’s account, called the young women black whores and baboons while saying they deserved to be raped and murdered.

#MenareTrash became a trending topic on social media site Twitter following the brutal murder of Soweto woman Karabo Mokoena.

Mhlana, who laid a complaint on Saturday, said she felt heavily discouraged by the police because when she went to lay the complaint, they said “things like this get thrown out before they get to court”.

“I was expecting that because Sharni had a similar experience in Pretoria. I wasn’t going to let that statement stop me because I need the case to be opened even though we will also be pursuing other avenues,” Mhlana said.

Ngakane, who initially laid a complaint at the Brooklyn Police Station in Hillcrest, Pretoria, said her case was transferred to the Villeria Police Station in Pretoria because according to police, “it is the closest to where I live”.

“When I got to the Brooklyn police station, I was basically told I was taking up police resources but I had my lawyer present and we said we’re opening the case regardless.

“Once the lady who was taking my statement heard and read the post made by Wayne, she came around and understood my reasons for being there,” Ngakane said.

Ngakane said she was very upset by the response she received from police officers, saying. “It’s the same thing they did to Karabo, because when she went to the police to open a case of assault against her boyfriend, they told her to work it out.

“To get such a response from the people [who] are supposed to protect us is shocking and discouraging,” Ngakane said.

Refuting claims of being racist, violent and threatening, Vorster said the posts had been made after his Facebook account was hacked.

“I haven’t put up these things, I lost my phone about a week ago and I only noticed the hack about two days prior to the posts being made when nude pictures started appearing on my wall,” Vorster said.

Police spokeswoman Captain Coba Brits confirmed a case was opened in Pretoria while Captain Khaya Ntonjeni confirmed the case in Grahamstown.