- Screenshots of a Facebook post, allegedly crafted by Beverley Kruger, have swirled across social media platforms.
- Kruger purportedly inferred that people of colour were "monkeys" who had caused the return of biting lockdown restrictions.
- The post said that "monkeys" were causing trouble for white people.
A racially charged Facebook post – which inferred people of colour were monkeys whose misbehaviour pushed South Africa back into lockdown restrictions – is sweeping across social media platforms.
The comment, allegedly made by Beverley Kruger, reads: "Lockdown fokken 3 … kan julle klomp aapies op hou kak maak vir ons wit mense (sic)."
Translated, the post reads: "Can you bunch of monkeys stop making trouble for us white people."
At the time of writing, Kruger had disabled her Facebook profile and the original post was unavailable.
The date and time of her alleged post is unknown.
It appears to have followed President Cyril Ramaphosa's address on Monday, in which he announced harsher lockdown restrictions to try and quell a resurgence of Covid-19 infections.
Kruger's alleged comment is reminiscent of a racial storm whipped up by KwaZulu-Natal realtor Penny Sparrow, who in 2016 likened black beachgoers to monkeys.
Her faux pas saw her slapped with a R150 000 hate speech fine by the Equality Court just months later, and her infamy was cemented by her conviction for crimen injuria for a racist slur – the first in post-apartheid South Africa.
Convicted racist Vicki Momberg was released from Sun City Prison in Johannesburg in December last year, after serving part of a two-year sentence for crimen injuria after she called a black police officer the k-word 48 times, when he came to her aid following a smash-and-grab incident in 2016.
Serious legal and reputational consequences
And Kruger too may be in hot water, said social media law expert Emma Sadleir.
"Anything you say on social media can and will be used against you. Even if you delete the post or your account – a screenshot is forever. Posts such as these can have serious legal, disciplinary and reputational consequences," she said.
Sadleir said that if she indeed crafted the post, Kruger may face disciplinary action for bringing her employer into disrepute and, legally, she may face an approach from the South African Human Rights Commission or the police.
Little is known about Kruger, whose social media presence had been pulled down after images of her post began to swirl.
According to her Instagram profile, she describes herself as "a country girl in every sense".
"I will show you what farm living is like," she wrote.
Repeated efforts to contact Kruger were unsuccessful at the time of publishing. Phone calls went unanswered and WhatsApp messages – requesting comment on the post – were initially read.
Others were undelivered, seemingly as News24's reporter was blocked by Kruger. SMSes also went unanswered.
This story will be updated if comment is proffered by Kruger.