South Africans protest outside woman’s residence after racist remarks

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - Scores of South Africans protested Monday outside the workplace and residence of a 60-year-old woman, who called for the killing of Black men and removal of reproductive organs of Black women.

“We won’t tolerate racism and racists, this is our land. If you hate black people get out of Azania (South Africa),” read some of the placards.

Police arrested Belinda Magor over the weekend and released her on a warning after she sent a voice note on a WhatsApp group comparing Black men to pit bulls during a discussion on whether the dog breed should be banned or not.

Thousands of South Africans have signed an online petition calling for the ban of pit bulls in the country as domestic pets, after many people were mauled to death by the animals.

Magor said in the voice note that Black men were worse than pit bulls and instead called for the ban of Black men.

“Ban the Black man. They rape, steal, and kill, worse than any pit bull could, and they get away with it,” she said in the widely shared voice note which has caused shock in the country that ended the apartheid racial system nearly three decades ago.

Kekeletso Khena, deputy president of the Azanian People's Organization (AZAPO), which led the protest in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg, said: “We will no longer tolerate racists. If you think you cannot live with us, if you think we are so inhumane then you must not live our country.”

In the voice note, Magor also said all Black women should have their uteruses and ovaries cut out so that they cannot procreate.

Her rant has created anger online with social media users calling on authorities to punish her harshly.

“Belinda Magor did not call on black people to be banned but rather to be killed. Don’t try to soften the issue. This is a very serious case of hate crime. She must be severely punished,’’ Twitter user @Thuso1Africa wrote.