MIDDELBURG, South Africa (AP) – Two white South Africans accused of forcing a black man into a coffin and threatening to set him on fire appeared before a judge on Wednesday as demonstrators protested against racism outside the courthouse.
Members of the ruling African National Congress party and opposition parties gathered outside the court in Middelburg in Mpumalanga province, where the judge postponed the case against the two detained farmers until Jan. 25.
A video showing the racially charged incident has circulated on social media, intensifying debate about South Africa’s legacy of white minority rule, which ended in 1994.
The video shows a man cowering and moaning in a coffin as a tormentor pushes part of the lid over his head and upper body. A man is also heard threatening to pour gasoline in the coffin. Another threat is to put a snake in the coffin.
The assaulted man, identified as Victor Rethabile Mlotshwa, had been accused of trespassing on farmland, according to South African media.