“God is great.”
These are the words of Belinda Magor, the white woman behind a racist WhatsApp voice note calling for the killing of black men and the removal of black women’s wombs, after her criminal case was struck off the roll.
Magor, 61, appeared in the Boksburg magistrate’s court on Tuesday. She last appeared in court on October 23.
Magor was facing a charge of crimen injuria after she recorded a one-minute-seven-seconds voice note calling for black men to be killed and for the uteruses and ovaries of black women to be cut off, so that they “cannot procreate because they are worse than pitbulls”.
Magistrate rejects postponement
During the court proceedings, the state prosecutor made a request for the matter to be postponed to January 18 2024, noting that police investigations are incomplete.
The prosecutor said police still needed to obtain statements from certain witnesses.
The magistrate declined the request, saying the matter was postponed on October 23 to November to give the police ample time to complete their investigations.
Failure to do so, mentioned the magistrate, the matter would be struck off the roll.
The magistrate then ordered that the matter be struck off the roll until the state has enough evidence to reinstate it.
After the matter was struck off the roll, Magor said: “Thank you, your Honour,” before exiting the courtroom.
God is great
Outside court, Magor declined to comment but said: “God is great, no comment,” before leaving in a e-hailing vehicle.
Magor was arrested on November 25 2022 and was released the same day on warning. She made her first court appearance at the Benoni magistrate’s court in March this year.
The matter was transferred from Benoni to the Boksburg magistrate’s court in April. She had been released on warning at the Benoni court to appear before a Boksburg magistrate.
Since then, the matter had been postponed for further investigations.
Magor made headlines when her voice note was shared in the WhatsApp group for pitbull owners called Pitbulls Be My Voice in November 2022.
In the voice note, she could be heard saying that black men were “worse than pitbulls”.
“Estelle, I agree with you wholeheartedly. What I say is, ban the black man. They rape, steal, and kill, worse than any pitbull could, and they get away with it,” Magor could be heard saying in the voice note.
“Ban those that are making the laws, ban Ekurhuleni, ban the black men.
“Get all the black women and cut out their uteruses and ovaries that they cannot procreate because they will all turn out the same because they are all the same … I am passionate about this.
“Ban them, kill them, shoot them, and get rid of them because they are the problem, not pitbulls, not animals.
“Animals are beautiful and they deserve [a] warm bed, food, love and attention and everything else.
“God created those animals. Who created the black man? Do you think God did, I don’t think so.’
The case can be re-enrolled
Her outburst came during a discussion about the spate of attacks by pitbulls on children. At the time, some people were calling for a total ban of pitbulls.
Meanwhile, the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has taken Magor to the Equality Court in Johannesburg and wants her to pay R150 000 to an organisation advancing reconciliation and diversity.
This is because Magor refused to accede to the commission’s letter of demand to acknowledge in writing that her utterances amounted to unfair discrimination based on race and amounted to hate speech.
She also refused to apologise unconditionally in writing to black people and black women for her utterances. The commission deemed her outbursts hateful and offensive.
Andre Gaum, a commissioner at the SAHRC, said a court date is yet to be set for verbal arguments to be heard in the Equality Court case.
He said he has no comment on Magor’s criminal case being struck off the roll.
“It can be placed on the court roll again. The police should just make sure they are ready then,” said Gaum.
