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ActionSA and EFF to take action over alleged racism at Cape Town pub

A Cape Town pub has come under fire for allegedly only allowing black patrons to enter if they are accompanied by a white person.
A Cape Town pub has come under fire for allegedly only allowing black patrons to enter if they are accompanied by a white person.
Image: 123rf/Taras Tsurka

A Cape Town pub has come under fire for allegedly only allowing black patrons to enter if they are accompanied by a white person.

This comes after a video went viral online where a white man, Christopher Logan, can be seen confronting the owner of Hank’s Old Irish Pub.

According to social media report, Logan confronted the owner after his friend, Thabiso Danca, was allegedly denied entry to the pub by a bouncer and told that he needed to be accompanied by a white person to enter.

Logan claimed the bouncer told Danca he was not allowed without a white person because he would “steal” and “cause trouble”.

Reacting to the video, the EFF in the Western Cape paid the pub a visit. The party described the incident as “blatant racism, criminalisation, racial profiling, degradation and reduction of black people to criminals and prisoners who must always be under watch”.

It said it would lay a racial discrimination complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and other institutions, and called for the pub's trading licence to be taken away.

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said the party would also investigate.

“ActionSA is going to investigate this matter to establish the facts and explore appropriate action taken against this racially divisive business. Never again should South Africans allow such racially based business practices,” said Mashaba.

In a statement, the pub denied it instructed staff to discriminate based on race.

“We want to state categorically that in the past 30 years of operating businesses in Cape Town, we as owners have never, nor have we ever instructed our staff to discriminate on any basis whatsoever, whether that be gender, sexual orientation or race,” it said.

“We want to place on record that we are extremely concerned for the wellbeing and safety of the staff involved. We will not be commenting any further while we conduct an internal disciplinary process about these allegations and the police conduct their criminal investigation into the case of assault opened against the individuals making accusations in the video.”

TimesLIVE


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