Ashwin Willemse during his days as a rugby pundit. (Photo by Lee Warren/Gallo Images)
- The Human Rights Commission has closed the case involving former Springbok Ashwin Willemse and SuperSport.
- The commission says Willemse failed to respond to questions related to the investigation.
- Willemse stormed off a SuperSport set in 2018, accusing fellow pundits Nick Mallett and Naas Botha of racism. Mallett and Botha were cleared of wrongdoing.
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has closed the investigation into the case involving former Springbok rugby player Ashwin Willemse and SuperSport.
In May 2018, Willemse walked off the SuperSport set during a live discussion after a Super Rugby match. He accused fellow pundits Nick Mallett and Naas Botha of racism.
However, a subsequent independent investigation cleared Mallett and Botha of any wrongdoing.
Willemse, though, was adamant that he had a case and brought the matter before the SAHRC. In 2019, the SAHRC confirmed it was investigating the matter but no ground had been made since.
Wisani Baloyi, the SAHRC’s acting communications coordinator, confirmed to News24 on Monday that the investigation had been closed because of Willemse’s failure to respond to questions.
A Multichoice spokesperson told News24 that they were aware of the investigation being closed and considered the matter as being finalised. The broadcaster said it would not make any further comments.
When contacted by News24, Botha said: “There’s nothing to say from my side. That’s the scenario and that’s the end of it and I gather that everybody is just moving on with their lives. I moved on long time ago.”
When probed on whether he was personally affected by the incident, Botha added: “In a way but luckily I’m just not somebody that dwells on something.
“If whatever happened led to somebody somewhere deciding something [against me], I wouldn’t know and I wouldn’t even bother.
“There might have been other avenues [that were affected] but you don’t know and I don’t know.”
News24 also reached out to Mallett but he declined to comment.
Over the past few years, Willemse has also declined News24’s requests for comment.