[WATCH]Clicks vow to lay charges against manager after man in traditional attire told to leave
Clicks SA says it will be issuing a formal complaint against a centre manager at the Boulders Shopping Centre in Midrand who was caught on camera telling a customer to leave the store because he was not dressed decently.
The video was shared on social media by Thando Mahlangu who was wearing Ndebele traditional attire and was then accused of dressing in an indecent manner in a public space.
In the video, the centre manager can be heard saying he would not condone the outfit “in my mall.”
“Let’s cut the long story short, we’ve got a right of admission. I do not condone this in my mall. So, ngicela uphume (please leave),” he continued.
A woman, who came to the shop with Mahlangu can be heard saying “This is Africa. You can't tell someone what to do or what to wear at which mall. We have a right to wear what we want to wear.”
However, the centre manager continues saying “This is a public place, it is not decent.”
Clicks Midrand Boulders has since distanced itself from the incident, saying the centre manager acted on his own.
“Clicks Midrand Boulders did not ask a customer dressed in traditional Ndebele attire to leave the Clicks store. The centre manager of Boulders, accompanied by Boulders Centre security, entered the Clicks store and demanded that the customer leave.
“The Clicks store manager intervened and asked the centre manager to leave. The customer was allowed to continue shopping.
“We are extremely embarrassed by the centre manager's behaviour and will be putting in a formal complaint,” reads the statement issued by Clicks SA.
Saddest reality in Africa, I was subjected to inside the @Clicks_SA store at The Boulders Shopping Center. By the center manager, who said it was his shopping complex. I was told that I'm wearing inappropriate I must go & Omega risk solutions harassed me #NdebeleTwitter pic.twitter.com/klzmTQspJO
— #WeNeedAmaNdebeleOnTV (@thandomahlangu_) March 24, 2021
The Gauteng MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture, Mbali Hlophe, has also condemned the incident.
She says it is shameful to see Africans discriminating against another.
“It remains shameful that an African man would discriminate against another for merely wearing traditional wear. It shows we have a long way to go in decolonising the minds of some amongst us.
“At the heart of the discrimination is a display of a man not comfortable in his own skin, as he projects his self-hate on another,”
ALSO READ
