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The Free State and North West are in the top three worst offenders when it comes to racial intolerance. The SA Human Rights Commission says the Free State generated 69% of all racism complaints it received in the third quarter of the 2013-2014 financial year, with only Mpumalanga receiving more complaints, at 74%. North West came in third place with 55% of racism complaints, while the Northern Cape was in fifth place with 44%.
Commission spokesperson, Isaac Mangena says allegations of racism make up 80% of the 10 000 human rights complaints it receives annually on average.
An alleged racist attack at the University of the Free State last week, in which two white students allegedly ran over a black student and then beat him up, has again put the issue into the spotlight. This, along with offers of "non-affirmative" student accommodation and teachers cleaning phones that had been handled by blacks, ensured the Free State dominated the headlines regarding racism allegations.
Mangena says of the 233 racism cases the commission dealt with between April 2013 and January 2014, 44 were in the Free State.
Meanwhile most racism complaints in South Africa originate from postings made on the spur of the moment via social media.
Mangena says out of the 10 000 complaints received annually by the commission, up to 80% relate to allegations of racism.
He announced that the Free State and North West are in the top three worst offenders when it comes to racial intolerance. He is urging South Africans to think before they post a racist remark on something like Twitter or Facebook
The commission is meanwhile busy with an investigation into allegations of an allegedly racially motivated assault at the University of the Free State, as well as allegations of other incidents at the institution. He says they expect to conclude a preliminary report this week.
