Johan Nel

Johan Nel (* 1990 ) is a South African murderer and right-wing extremist . He is a white South African and belongs to the Boer ethnic group . Because his actions were racially motivated and his victims were exclusively black South Africans, he received the nickname Racist Killer (Racist Killer) by the media .

On January 14, 2008, Nel, who was 17 at the time of the crime, murdered four black South Africans in the informal settlement of Skierlik near his home town of Swartruggens . For this he was sentenced in November 2008 to four life imprisonment in a maximum security prison, which according to South African law entails a total imprisonment of at least 169 years. He was also sentenced to an additional 68 years for attempted murder in ten cases, an additional five years for illegal possession of weapons , and an additional three years in prison for illegal possession of ammunition , bringing his total imprisonment to 245 years.

Nel initially served his sentence in Ramochana Prison in Rustenburg . In March 2012 he was transferred to the Katuma Sinthumule Maximum Prison of Venda in Limpopo Province . He is detained under such strict detention conditions that until today (2012) he is not allowed to receive private visits. After 25 years in prison, he will for the first time be given the opportunity to apply for parole. However, it is assumed that he will remain in custody until the end of his life.

Course of events and victims

On January 14, 2008, Nel drove in camouflaged military clothing and with his father's hunting rifle in his pick-up to Skierlik near his home town of Swartruggens, 56 km west of Rustenburg, and parked the vehicle next to the informal settlement's spa shop . He made his way into the settlement along a road and immediately began shooting everyone he saw. While he was firing, eyewitness reports said he repeatedly shouted " Kaffer ", which in South Africa is an insult to members of the country's black population.

After killing four people, he could hardly find anyone due to the fact that almost all of the residents of Skierlik had fled from him or were in hiding. He left the informal settlement and moved back through the bush to his nearby home, Swartruggens. He left his vehicle in Skierlik. In Swartruggens he was arrested by the police shortly afterwards.
According to some eyewitnesses, while walking to Swartruggens, Nel shot and killed an ostrich on the grounds of an ostrich farm after he had asked the landowner for additional ammunition and was denied it.

During his act, which had the characteristics of a rampage , he killed Sivuyile Peyi (37), Annah Moiphitlhi (31) and their three-month-old daughter and the ten-year-old Tshepo Motshelanoka. Eight other people were injured by Nel, some seriously. One of the injured is the then three-year-old Onkarabile Lottering, who has been paralyzed on one side since then. Nel had no personal connection with the victims.

Court process

During his trial, Nel revealed racist reasons for his actions and “hatred of black people” who were “not human”. He pleaded guilty on all charges. When he was sentenced, he showed no emotion.

During the trial, he said he was attacked with a sickle by a black South African in 2003 . As early as 2001, his brother was attacked by a group of black South Africans. As Nel went on to explain, on the Sunday before his crime he heard that black South Africans had broken into a friend's house and leaked gas into the room where he was with his wife and their small child. Then, one day before his act, there was another attack on a farming family he knew.

Others

During the trial against Johan Nel, presiding judge Ronald Hendricks and the prosecuting prosecutors received around 50 death threats from members of the white minority in South Africa. The judge and the public prosecutors therefore received ongoing police protection .

In February 2012, Nel married 18-year-old Maryna Naudé in prison with the associated short-term easing of his prison conditions in the presence of his parents.

On June 16, 2012, around four and a half years after the crime, Nel's family officially visited the informal settlement of Skierlik for the first time in connection with the murders. This should improve the relationship between the residents and the local white farmers.

reception

In the course of the court case against Nel, the discussion in South Africa increased whether the death penalty should be reintroduced. There were riots in front of the courthouse, during which the relatives of the victims and numerous other people chanted slogans such as Kill the boer, kill the farmer (Kill the Boer, kill the farmer).

The courthouse in Swartruggens had to be guarded by a heavily armed police force during the trial. Nel had to be taken to and from the courthouse in an armored vehicle, which was pelted with stones, cans and other objects by demonstrators. During one of the first days of the trial, the protesters managed to storm the main entrance of the courthouse, whereupon they were forcibly beaten back by the police. After that the security measures were enormously strengthened.

Overall, the act and the subsequent trial against Nel brought the ethnic tensions in South Africa and the profound aftermath of apartheid to the attention of the general public.
While Nel's racist motivation for the murders was accepted by the public practically from the start, different opinions on South African racism emerged in the course of the general processing of the incident.

All of South Africa's political and social authorities and dignitaries unanimously emphasized that murders are generally abhorred, regardless of who kills whom and what ethnic group the murderer or victim belongs to. Nonetheless, a move on the part of the white minority of South Africa in particular sparked discussion, according to which the murders of white citizens by black people in the country did not attract the same amount of attention at the time, although this also happens very regularly.

In the course of coming to terms with the murders, numerous other racist attacks by the white minority of South Africa came to light, such as an openly racist amateur video by white students from the University of the Free State (UFC) that was circulated shortly after the Skierlik murders was advised and in which black South Africans were equated with dogs, among other things. The video had even been available on the university's intranet for a long time , so it can be assumed that the university had not yet voiced any criticism in this regard.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Times Live (South Africa, 2012): Killer Johan Nel weds in jail , April 27, 2013 (English)
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} BBC (South Africa, 2008): SA racist killer gets life term , April 27, 2013 (English)
3. ↑ ^{a b} The Telegraph (Great Britain): White teenage racist admits South Africa killing spree (from November 17, 2008) , May 25, 2013 (English)
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Thoughtleader (South Africa, 2008): It's just a bad breed , April 27, 2013 (English)
5. ↑ ^{a b} Legal letter (South Africa, 2008): Judge gets 50 death threats before sentencing racist killer  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 27, 2013 (English)  
6. ↑ ^{a b} The Telegraph (Great Britain, 2008): Racist teenager gets 169 years for killing spree , April 28, 2013 (English)
7. ↑ ^{a b} OFM 94-97 Radio (South Africa, 2013): Skierlik massacre of 2008 to be commemorated (from January 14, 2013) , May 25, 2013 (English)
8. ↑ Taung Daily News (South Africa, 2012): No special treatment for race killer , April 28, 2013 (English)
9. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Dailymail.co.uk (Great Britain, 2008): 'Mom, something just snapped,' says white teen who killed four in rifle rampage in South African squatter camp , April 27, 2013 (English)
10. ↑ Daily Maverick (South Africa, 2013): Analysis: Measuring racial hatred, one murder at a time , April 28, 2013 (English)
11. ↑ ^{a b} Blogs.bet.com (United States, 2008): White S. African Pleads Guilty of Shooting Black Kids , April 28, 2013 (English)
12. ↑ Research (2008): The family and victims of Skierlik murder ... ( Memento of the original from January 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 27, 2013 (English) 
13. ↑ Thatminoritything.com (United States, 2008): South African Racist Killer Gets Life Term ( Memento of the original from June 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 28, 2013 (English)  
14. ↑ Sarah Maido Falbion (2009): Johan Nel - "White malice" or another victim? , April 27, 2013 (English)
15. ↑ SABC News (South Africa): Family of Skierlik murderer seek reconciliation (from June 16, 2012) ( Memento of the original from January 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , May 25, 2013  
16. ↑ News24.com: Tense mood in Swartruggens (from February 12, 2008) , May 25, 2013 (English)
17. ↑ News24.com: 'I cannot trust anyone' (January 24, 2008) , May 25, 2013 (English)
18. ↑ ^{a b c} Bok van Blerk: The University of the Free State and the red herring of race (PDF download) , May 17, 2013 (English)