Cape Town – In another alleged racism incident, the management of an upmarket Clifton restaurant has distanced itself from an employee worker for racially profiling patrons.
A waiter had typed the words “2 Blacks” on their food bill.
Scott Maqetuka, 20, a Vega student was having dinner with a friend at The Bungalow restaurant on Sunday and was shocked when he was handed the bill which had their table number, their waiter’s name, their bill number, the date and time and the words “2 Blacks” in the header. The restaurant issued a statement saying it has a clear policy of non-discrimination on the basis of gender, race, religion or sexuality.
“On this occasion, this was the act of one employee, and an internal investigation is taking place. Procedures are being put in place to ensure that this does not happen again. No offence was intended and we are sorry that Mr Maqetuka had this experience.” However, Maqetuka said the explanation he was given for the racial profiling was that the area they were seated in did not have table numbers and thus the waiter used their race as a way of identifying them.
“We were getting ready to pay the bill, but my eyes got drawn to the ‘2 Blacks’ note. Luckily, a manager was passing by and I called him and queried this. But his response actually confused me further. He told me normally they identify customers by their clothing and then he showed me two bill printouts which had ‘Zim’ and another had ‘eight whites’ in the header.
“I was really shocked. I couldn’t say much and I was also very disappointed by how lightly the manager took the incident. It really hurt and I could feel the warmth of my body which was overcome by anger,” he said. Later, Maqetuka posted a photo of the bill and it went viral on social media.
He said it was not the first time he had been to the restaurant, but due to the service and discrimination he was subjected to he would not be going back.
“I was so embarrassed. We were not the only blacks there; there was another couple, however there were just a few of us. This incident made me realise that racism will not go away any time soon in Cape Town. But what it said is that we as ‘blacks’ can’t stop going to these affluent business places – we keep trying to prove a point to the world and it keeps getting thrown in our faces.”
Bungalow Restaurant in Clifton Picture: Cindy Waxa/Cape Argus
The incident at the Bungalow is the second racial incident to have occurred at a restaurant in less than two weeks.
Last week a group of friends dining at Clarke’s Bar were allegedly racially abused by a white woman who sat at their table asking if “everyone here is black”, and calling them “common coloureds”.
It’s alleged the group of friends was asked to leave while the woman was allowed to stay behind. Clarke’s owner Lyndall Maunder posted a heartfelt apology on social media, saying she had invited the group, the woman and her staff to a meeting to address what had happened.