BLF’s Maasdorp finally apologises for comments after death of white pupils in bridge collapse

Cape Town - Controversial Black First Land First member Lindsay Maasdorp has finally issued an apology for comments he made following the death of white learners when a bridge collapsed at Driehoek Hoerskool in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng.

This came after labour union Solidarity lodged a complaint of hate speech at the Equality Court in Gauteng against the Black First Land First group, and specifically members Lindsay Maasdorp and Zwelakhe Dubasi, for comments they made following the death of four pupils when the school walkway bridge collapsed on February 1, 2019.

BLF members said, among other things, that the death of three children was a divine intervention that got rid of three future problems.

In the judgment, handed down on March 2, 2022, the Equality Court found that the comments made by Maasdorp and Dubasi amounted to hate speech and ordered that both should apologise and that their apologies be communicated to the South African public by the South African Human Rights Commission.

On September 21, the Commission in a statement said Dubasi had issued an apology, but they had not received one from Maasdorp.

On Wednesday, the Commission confirmed it had now also received an apology from Maasdorp.

While Dubasi in his apology acknowledged the harm done and apologised unconditionally “as a right and critical step in making proper amends for the wounds … inflicted on the families of the deceased children, human rights commission and broader society”, Maasdorp said he had deleted the comments from social media, and did not have any active accounts.

“I, Lindsay Maasdorp, wish to apologise to all South Africans, acknowledging that my comments were hate speech and that they were wrong to publish and post, and I undertake to desist from publishing or posting the said comments as they are prohibited by Section 10(1) of the Equality Act.

“I further undertake that I have removed the comments from my social media accounts and, in fact, have no active social media accounts currently,” Maasdorp’s apology reads.

Cape Times