In what is being called a landmark ruling, a a woman in South Africa has been sentenced to three years in prison for using a racial slur toward a police officer. According to reports, a South African woman who is white named Vicki Momberg, called police after her car was burglarized in Johannesburg. When the Black police officer arrived, Momberg refused his assistance and called him the K-word, the South African equivalent of the N-word in America.
The racial slur was reportedly used 48 times in Momberg’s rant.
After repeatedly using the slur, Momberg was arrested by police and on March 28 was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of racial abuse. She is the first person in South African history to be sentenced for this offense. Momberg has the opportunity to be released in two years if she does not commit the same offense according to the Washington Post.
Host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah, who was born and raised in South Africa, spoke to his audience during a break of his show yesterday to talk about the case.
“In South Africa after apartheid ended white people were never punished…” Noah said.
Noah goes on to mention that following apartheid which was the legal separation of races in South Africa, a law famously railed against by Anti-Apartheid activist Nelson Mandela, lawmakers in South Africa made it illegal to use the K-word which Noah claims upset some white people who heard the story and saw this as a violation of free speech. “Just don’t be racist….” Noah says in response to those opposed to the ruling.
The Born a Crime author also jokingly contrasts this situation to if an American Black person were to do the same thing to a white police officer.
“Imagine if a black person in America said like cracker to a white cop 48 times. I would’ve been shocked if they got to 15 before they got shot.”
