/ 7 October 2008

Nehawu condemns varsity racism on Facebook

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) has condemned the racism of University of North West students in Facebook group.

”We demand investigation and appropriate action against these supercilious, hateful little bigots who are spreading hate speech against black South Africans,” Nehawu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said in a statement on Tuesday.

”We want to see criminal charges against all those who are involved in spreading racist messages and violent acts against black people,” he said.

The group called ”ek laaik nie ‘n houtkop nie, sou what” contained other racially inflammatory terms and comments posted by members.

On Monday, the North West University (NWU) said it was appalled at the existence of the group and the involvement of some of its students.

”The university has already started with an investigation into the matter, with the view of instituting possible disciplinary steps against them [the students],” said university spokesperson Louis Jacobs.

The NWU said it had asked Facebook to close down the group. – Sapa