Frank Maponya
Frank Maponya
A Limpopo man was severely injured in an attack at a "white" pub in downtown Polokwane.
Khari Hlekani, 40, received three stitches below his right eye after the allegedly racially-motivated attack at Gambler's Saloon in Polokwane.
Hlekani said he went to the pub with his younger brother on Saturday night.
He stayed behind to lock the doors to his car. When he approached the entrance, where his brother was waiting, it was clear that patrons were being charged to enter the pub. A white woman stood guard at the door.
When Hlekani asked her how much the cover charge was she allegedly told him she did not want to speak to them.
"I asked her politely and was surprised when the woman called two security guards inside the pub," Hlekani said.
He said the guards started assaulting him without uttering a word until he fell down.
"The guards continued kicking me even after I had fallen," he said.
His brother and other patrons watched helplessly while he was being assaulted and he lost consciousness.
The culprits were an African male and a white man.
"When they were done I managed to summon an ambulance and was taken to Polokwane Hospital, where I received three stitches," Hlekani said.
In the fray he lost a wristwatch worth R2200.
A Sowetan team visited the pub yesterday and saw a note that discouraged racism at the entrance.
Only the African security guard has been arrested.
Polokwane police spokesman Inspector Lesiba Ramoshaba confirmed yesterday that the white suspect had not been arrested. They were still looking for him.
'RACIST ATTACK'
Frank Maponya
Frank Maponya
A Limpopo man was severely injured in an attack at a "white" pub in downtown Polokwane.
Khari Hlekani, 40, received three stitches below his right eye after the allegedly racially-motivated attack at Gambler's Saloon in Polokwane.
Hlekani said he went to the pub with his younger brother on Saturday night.
He stayed behind to lock the doors to his car. When he approached the entrance, where his brother was waiting, it was clear that patrons were being charged to enter the pub. A white woman stood guard at the door.
When Hlekani asked her how much the cover charge was she allegedly told him she did not want to speak to them.
"I asked her politely and was surprised when the woman called two security guards inside the pub," Hlekani said.
He said the guards started assaulting him without uttering a word until he fell down.
"The guards continued kicking me even after I had fallen," he said.
His brother and other patrons watched helplessly while he was being assaulted and he lost consciousness.
The culprits were an African male and a white man.
"When they were done I managed to summon an ambulance and was taken to Polokwane Hospital, where I received three stitches," Hlekani said.
In the fray he lost a wristwatch worth R2200.
A Sowetan team visited the pub yesterday and saw a note that discouraged racism at the entrance.
Only the African security guard has been arrested.
Polokwane police spokesman Inspector Lesiba Ramoshaba confirmed yesterday that the white suspect had not been arrested. They were still looking for him.