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- Ivan Simmers has filed an intimidation charge after being persecuted and threatened.
- Simmers said he received 10 missed calls from private numbers on Tuesday, which he chose not to answer.
- He makes no apologies for getting caught up in the Brackenfell High School private party saga.
The Cape Town father behind the Facebook post, which put the spotlight on a private party reportedly attended by only white 12th grade Brackenfell High School students, has filed a bullying charge after be persecuted and threatened.
Ivan Simmers told News24 that while he had been ignoring the countless threats he has received on WhatsApp and Facebook since reporting what he believes to be a racist event, he decided to involve the police after a white Toyota followed him on Friday.
Simmers said they followed him from his home in Bellville to his son’s school and back home.
He said he had pulled to the side of the road to face the man behind the wheel, but the motorist had continued to drive.
“I wanted to ask you why you were following me. But these guys are cowards. They won’t come up to you and challenge you to your face. They hide,” Simmers said.
He said:
For the past week, I have been receiving threats. I don’t care. They can do whatever they want. I said what I wanted to say.
Simmers said she posted about the event on Facebook after it caught her attention through students attending elementary school with her daughter.
On November 1, he shared the YouTube link to a video of the party, which now requires permission to be viewed on the video-sharing platform.
More than 150 comments followed.
As word spread and the event gained traction on social media, those who accused him of sowing dissent began posting his photo, business details and contact information.
READ | EFF pledges to ‘ensure nothing works’ at Brackenfell protest on Friday
“The abuse was incredible: people threatening my life, my livelihood and my family. Threatening phone calls, thinly veiled social messages, boycotting my business,” Simmers said.
He was also aware of WhatsApp messages, in which people in the neighborhood discuss “what would they do if they find [him]”and one of the threats said they should” skiet hom vrek, “said Simmers.
But he makes no apologies for getting caught up in the saga.
“It has been 26 years since the supposed democracy, but our children are still [racially] abused, “Simmers said.
“And I don’t blame the kids. I blame the parents, teaching them these racist things.”
On Tuesday morning alone, Simmers said he had received 10 missed calls from private numbers, which he chooses not to answer.
“I also received two messages, one calling me ‘gemors’ and another saying that’ they will get [me]’,” he said.
He passed this information on to the police.
The provincial spokesman, Captain FC van Wyk, confirmed that a case of intimidation had been opened at the Bellville Police Station and that an investigation was underway.
Less than a week ago, Brackenfell High School alumnus Siya Ntuntwana, 22, also pressed charges after receiving death threats.
READ ALSO | Brackenfell High: Exams rescheduled before EFF protest, MEC calls for calm
He had been on the receiving end of virulent attacks after speaking out about his own experience of discrimination and racism at his alma mater, from which he enrolled in 2016.
The former first-team rugby and cricket player had worn his Old Boys uniform as he spoke of being called the k-word and being exposed to both overt and covert racism.
He recalled that, during class discussions, teachers would say things like “South Africa was in a better position in apartheid than it is now”, or they would call it “you”.
Violence erupted near the school last Monday when fists flew as the EFF in the Western Cape attempted to organize a protest.
The party demanded that two teachers who attended a private event be suspended from school.
The party was attended by several white 12th graders after the school canceled its official tuition dance due to Covid-19.
After the fight, in which six EFF supporters were injured and a Bakkie with a picture of party leader Julius Malema’s face damaged, a suspect was arrested for firing an air pistol during the confrontation.
Jaco Pretorius, 38, of Protea Heights, was arrested on one charge of public violence. He was released after a warning after appearing in the Kuils River Magistrates Court, where the matter was postponed until January 25, 2020.
Dr. Guillaume Smit, president of the governing body of Brackenfell High School, told News24 that he did not tolerate the violence that unfolded Monday and that he had written to parents urging them “not to get involved.”
“The people who participated are residents, not parents,” he said.
The school’s governing body had requested an urgent injunction to prevent the EFF from protesting racism on the roads surrounding the school, but Judge Siraj Desai denied it last Tuesday in Western Cape Superior Court.
Monday was postponed until December 2 because the matter was not ready for hearing.
Meanwhile, one of the mothers who planned the event told local newspaper TygerBurger that it had initially been organized for her daughter and her friends in a private location. It had spread to other students, including children of color, as there was room for more attendees.
Tickets were sold on a first-come, first-served basis, he said, and only 42 of the 260 attended the function, while the rest were from other schools and partners who had already completed their education.
A black-plate student had reportedly confirmed to the publication that he had received an invitation, but refused to go because his parents would not have been able to buy a ticket or rent a suit. He also had “something that day.”
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