Western Province Rugby Football Union vice-president Gerald Njengele has been cleared of all racism charges following an appeal.

In May, Njengele was suspended for four years for breaching the union’s code of ethics following an incident that took place at the Cape Town Sevens last December.

According to a report, Njengele was accused of launching a verbal and racial attack on Jessie Claassen, who is the national manager of the Vuka Rugby Programme – an SA Rugby-affiliated initiative that aims to cater for rugby development in the country.

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Claassen reportedly refused to shake Njengele’s hand due to a previous altercation, and that Njengele responded: ‘F**k you white people, f**k the coloureds. I’m a clever darkie. I don’t need your f*****g money.’

Njengele denied that he made those comments at the time.

On Tuesday, the WPRFU released a statement confirming that Njengele’s appeal against the findings of the disciplinary tribunal was successful and that he will resume his duties with immediate effect.

WPRFU president Thelo Wakefield says the union is confident that due process was followed.

‘We take matters such as this very seriously, which is why it was important that the correct procedure was followed at every stage.’