Amnesty International has welcomed the sentences handed down to two farmers who assaulted and forced a farm worker into a coffin in Middelburg, Mpumalanga.
The human rights NGO was responding to news that Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Jackson were sentenced to 11 and 14 years imprisonment respectively on Friday in the Middelburg High Court.
The two men were convicted of assaulting farm worker Victor Mlotshwa and shoving him into a coffin, threatening to pour petrol over him and set him alight.
A video of the incident went viral on social media and other platforms. The duo were also convicted of the assault of another farm worker.
The executive director of Amnesty International South Africa Shenilla Mohamed said the conclusion of this grotesque case sends a clear and welcome message that acts of racism or discrimination will not be tolerated in South Africa.
She said the government must now move with speed to finalise the Hate Crimes legislation in order to deal decisively with incidents of discrimination.
Following several incidents of racist behaviour caught on social media, the South African government responded by saying it would introduce draft legislation in the form of the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill.
