Niël Terblanché
CORIEN Steenkamp, the Walvis Bay teacher assistant who gained notoriety for making racially discriminatory utterances on social media platforms, is facing criminal charges after police in the harbour town registered a case in this regard against her.
Steenkamp will face charges under the Racial Discrimination Prohibition laws as laid down in Act No 26 of 1998, once the investigation into the matter is completed.
According to Deputy Commissioner Erastus Iikuyu, the Erongo Regional Crime Investigations Coordinator, the case is being investigated by the State on behalf of the victims of the discriminatory utterances.
He said the investigation was launched after Steenkamp, who is a resident of Walvis Bay, unlawfully and intentionally used a racial discriminatory language on social media platforms and caused, encouraged or incited hatred between different racial groups (white and black); the suspect further made racial discriminatory remarks towards the black racial group between May 2020 and 10 June 2020 at different times.
“The suspect is not yet arrested and once the investigation is completed, the docket will be sent to the Prosecutor General for a decision to prosecute the suspect or not,” he said.
Steenkamp was suspended from her teaching job following a social media firestorm against her racists remarks since the debacle erupted on social media.
She is also scheduled to face a disciplinary hearing at the school, Hillside Christian College, on Friday, 12 June.
