The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) visited Hoërskool Ben Vorster in Tzaneen on Wednesday, 29 November 2023, after a pupil from the school called a popular TikToker an “EFF Kaffir” while on a live stream. The incident sparked outrage on social media and prompted the EFF to demand an apology from the school and the pupil.
The TikToker, Sonwabile (@sonwabiled), who has over 457.8K followers and 2.5M likes on the platform (TikTok), was doing a live stream on Ome.tv, when he received a video chat from a user with his what seems to be his sister, who said: “You EFF Kaffir” and proceeded to laugh then disconnected from the chat. Sonwabile, responded by saying: “Okay that’s not nice. In 2023 we’re still dealing with racism.” He then ended the stream and posted a snippet of the stream on his TikTok account. The video has since received over 66.9K likes and 6000 comments, with many users expressing their support for Sonwabile and condemning the racist remark.
The EFF members, which is a radical and militant economic emancipation movement, took notice of the video and called for action. “This is a clear indication of the deep-rooted racism and anti-blackness that still pervades our society. We demand that the school and the pupil apologize to Sonwabile and the EFF, and that the pupil be suspended and face disciplinary action. We also call on the Department of Basic Education to investigate the matter and ensure that the school implements anti-racism policies and programmes. The EFF will not tolerate any form of racism and discrimination against our people.” a member said. The EFF in Limpopo has since issued a statement condeming the racist incident and calling for immediate action from the school and authorities.
On Wednesday, 29 November 2023, a group of EFF members, arrived at the school and staged a protest outside the gate. The EFF members demanded to see the pupil who made the comment and for the pupil to also face repercussions for the words uttered to Sonwabile.
The pupil who has been identified as Erhard Vorster, is a grade 9 pupil from the school has since deleted his social media accounts.
A kaffir is a very offensive and hateful term that is used to refer to a black person, especially in South Africa. The word comes from the Arabic word kāfir, which means “unbeliever” or “non-Muslim”. The word was originally used by Arabs to refer to non-Muslims, especially black Africans who were enslaved by them. Later, the word was adopted by European colonizers and settlers in Africa, who used it to describe any black person, regardless of their religion or culture. The word became associated with racism and oppression, especially during the apartheid era in South Africa, when it was used as a derogatory and insulting term for black people. The word is now considered hate speech and is illegal to use in South Africa. It is also very disrespectful and hurtful to black people everywhere. The word is sometimes euphemized as the K-word in South African English.