Reitz workers’ road to reconciliation

Their dignity restored … Emmah Koko, Mittah Sebuasengwe Ntlatseng, Mankoe Phororo, Mothibedi David Molete, and Rebecca Nkgapeng Adams.
Nearly four years after they were caught in the eye of an international race storm, the workers featured in the now infamous Reitz Video speak out about their journey towards dignity and reconciliation.

A few years ago a group of five employees from the University of the Free State (UFS) could have hardly have guessed what impact their act of forgiveness and reconciliation would have on the Free State community.

In early 2008, they were stripped of their dignity when a mock initiation video recorded by four students from the then Reitz residence on the Bloemfontein campus was broadcast around the world. Following a public outcry, the young men were hauled before court on charges of crimen injuria.

The names of Emmah Koko, Mittah Sebuasengwe Ntlatseng, Mankoe Phororo, Mothibedi David Molete, and Rebecca Nkgapeng Adams and their tormentors Roelof Malherbe, Schalk van der Merwe, Johnny Roberts, and Danie Grobler became internationally recognised as newspaper headlines about the now infamous Reitz Four drama travelled across the globe.

The incident not only threatened to plunge the already racially divided student community at the university into crisis, but also unearthed deep-seated race issues thought extinct in South Africa’s burgeoning democracy.
However, in 2011, with the aid of the Human Right Commission (HRC), the Reitz Four publically apologised to the group for their actions. They were met not with hostility, but forgiveness and reconciliation. This act of kindness brought to the fore the desperate need for justice to be served, and also for compassion.

The perpetrators were fined and received suspended sentences while the university reached an out-of-court settlement with its employees.

As South Africa celebrated Human Rights Day this week, The Weekly spoke to them and heard how they appreciated the process that restored their dignity as human beings.

Answered to law … The infamous Reitz Four appearing in court in Bloemfontein on charges of crimen injuria.

“When this thing was happening, we did not suspect anything. These were the children we knew. We raised them and their parents and we never thought they will treat us with disrespect. The race issue did not even come to our mind. But when the video came out we knew, they had bad motive and we were sickened and embarrassed by this revelation,” said Koko.

According to Adams, forgiveness is vital in a society that wants to heal itself.

“After these boys asked for forgiveness we were surprised because we thought that they planned this and they wanted to embarrass us. This was their plan and they were happy with the outcome. But this was not the case, because they genuinely asked for forgiveness. I will not forget that day, everybody was in tears.We are now free and relieved and we do not look at them like we did during that race case. We consider them our children and treat them as such. This has taught us everyone is equal because we are all God’s creation.”

Molete is the only man amongst the cleaners. He said he also did not suspect any racial motive behind the incident. But after discovering the motive of the boys, he felt it was a blow to his dignity as a man.
“I’m a family man and this impacted negatively on me as a man and a father. My community also started looking at me differently. I was also no longer myself because I could not face other men, afraid that they will think I am weak. But this has changed and my life is normal again.”

According to the group, they now have a good relationship with the Reitz Four and the institution.

In an event in February last year in front of 300 guests, Grobler, in a statement read on behalf of the students, publicly stated their regret and apologised to the five cleaners.

“Since April 2008, we have lived through a most horrible period in our lives. We have been rejected by many within our own community and reviled by people who do not even know us.”
Grobler added that they had failed the workers and knew that their conduct had hurt them.

Reconciled at last … The Reitz Four publicly apologised to the workers featured in their video during a reconciliation ceremony last year.
“With true remorse and humility, we ask you to forgive us.”
The group of five’s message to South Africans as Human Rights Month is commemorated is, “Acknowledge that we have gained freedom and we need to work together to protect it”.

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood,” reads the United Nation Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The South African Constitution and law prohibits discrimination on the ground of race, disability, ethnic or social origin, colour, age, culture, language, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, or marital status. However, entrenched attitudes and practices often result in the denial of these rights in practice.

The HRC was set up post-1994 as a Chapter 9 institution to protect the basic right of being treated with respect and dignity. Human rights are based on the principle of respect for the individual. They are called human rights because they are universal. Everyone is entitled to these rights no matter who they are or where they live, simply because they are alive. They mean choice and opportunity.

In the Free State, the HRC prides itself on investigating and successfully helping people to regain their respect and dignity in the societies they live in.

One such example is the case that involved seven learners who were expelled from a school because they were pregnant. Their right to education was violated.

“The parents came to the Human Rights Commission to complain. We went to court and the court found that the school policy was discriminatory,” HRC spokesperson Vincent Moaga explained.

According to Moaga, investigating cases is not always smooth sailing. There are challenges they encounter that hinder their investigations.

“Most of the time the respondents do not respond to provide information and this sometimes means the process of investigation will be longer, or stop.”

The commission also receives many complaints from offenders in prisons. They usually complain about bad treatment from prison warders, no access to further education, and general complaints regarding the Parole Board.

“As we celebrate human rights, we have found people are concerned about service delivery, housing waiting list, regular interruption in water supply, and poor consultation by government. This is the reason we are focusing on water and sanitation, but this does not exclude other matters. We will still continue with our normal work,”
said Moaga.