A woman spent a night in jail after she allegedly used a racial slur against a man at a gym in Richards Bay, a report has said.
According to The Witness, Ashika Ramdeen, 39, appeared in court on Thursday after the incident at the Virgin Active gym on Wednesday evening.
The report said that Ramdeen has already apologised to the victim, Jabulani Cebekhulu, 34.
The incident reportedly occurred after Cebekhulu told Ramdeen she had jumped the queue at the super circuit, which involves doing a series of exercises in a particular order using specific equipment in a short amount of time.
Cebekhulu told The Witness that Ramdeen had not been following commonly accepted circuit protocol.
“There is a procedure on the super circuit. (The accused) had jumped the queue. I asked her to move as it was my turn to use a machine she was seated at, but she refused and said it was her right to use what and when she liked. She eventually said; “K*****s will always be k*****s', to which I responded: ‘Why are you racially abusing me, why are you calling me a k*****'.”
He claims she then replied “You stupid k*****, and then walked off.
“I went straight to the police and laid a charge. It was only when I got home that I realised how much the incident had affected me; I couldn’t sleep. I was so angry. We are trying to build this country. We cannot accept this type of behaviour,” Cebekhulu told The Witness.
According to the report, Ramdeen was arrested outside the gym shortly afterwards and held overnight. She is facing a charge of crimen injuria.
Ramdeen’s husband, Nakesh, reportedly said that his wife was deeply apologetic about the incident.
“My wife is suffering from stress, has recently developed a heart condition, has diabetes and is on a lot of medication, including anti-depressants. She can only use certain equipment at the gym because of her condition and is suffering from post-traumatic stress. She hasn’t gone to work in three weeks, “ Nakesh was quoted in The Witness as saying.
“What she said was completely out of character. She is sorry. We have lived in Zululand for 23 years and we love it here. She is certainly not a racist. We have friends from various racial groups.”
Virgin Active said in a statement Ramdeen’s contract had been suspended with immediate effect, the report said.
According to The Witness, managing director of Virgin Active in South Africa Ross Faragher-Thomas said the Richards Bay incident had been reported to the manager on duty immediately and both members attended a meeting at the club where Ramdeen apparently made an apology.
The court matter has been postponed to March 14 for further investigation.
- IOL