Cape Town - A Camps Bay car guard has become the latest victim in a spate of unprovoked attacks.
On Sunday, Blaze Itomo, 30, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was punched several times in the chest and neck by a man whose partner had refused to pay for parking.
This follows a spate of attacks in recent weeks, some of which were deemed racist.
On Sunday, Boss Models SA dropped UCT student Djavan Arrigone, 19, from its books after he allegedly refused to apologise to a Khayelitsha taxi driver for urinating on his head from the balcony of the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Claremont. The Weekend Argus reported that Arrigone allegedly claimed he came from overseas, his father was rich, and he didn’t “see anything wrong with urinating on the top of a black person”.
It was reported that Arrigone swore at the driver, Michelle Puis Nomgcana, and called him “stupid”.
The incident caused a social media uproar over the weekend, prompting his agency to dump him. His agency tweeted on Sunday: “Boss Models no longer represents Djavan Arrigone. We do not condone such behaviour and released him from our agency.”
Meanwhile, Itomo said he was sweeping outside Dizzys Restaurant and Pub in Camps Bay, where he also works as a cleaner, when a “big and tattooed white guy” pounced on him. The man accused him of trying to rob his wife, before throwing punches at him.
“I was taken by surprise. He shouted that I was trying to rob his wife, and before I could respond, he started punching me on the chest and neck. I fell backwards… he ran away when people started coming towards us.”
Itomo said he felt sorry for his attacker and did not open a police case after his attacker begged him not to press charges because he had a small baby. “I felt bad for him even though he made me angry.”
Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut confirmed the incident. “The Camps Bay police responded to an assault complaint this morning, however the victim declined to register a case.”
Dizzy’s Restaurant & Pub manager, Admire Sanyika, who alerted the police to the incident, said he saw a woman with a baby stroller and two dogs gesturing towards Itomo from the other side of the road.
“When I saw the guy pushing and punching Itomo, I pressed the panic button and called the police. He then ran away. But we chased him down. If you had a quarrel with someone, you first try to talk to them… this is not normal behaviour.”
Itomo said the incident was a first in the six years he has worked as a car guard in the area. He said he first encountered the man’s “wife” about two weeks ago, when she refused to pay for parking at the Camps Bay Bowling Club, where parking costs R20. “When I told her she had to pay, she got upset and asked me who am I to ask her to pay for private parking,” he said.
The woman then drove away in a huff after throwing a R20 note at him, he said. “She said she will return with someone who will sort me out.”
Itomo said the same woman waited on the other side of the road on Sunday morning while the guy charged at him.
The Weekend Argus reported that the Arrigone incident was among 10 recent “race-related” attacks in Cape Town suburbs recently.
Political analyst Professor Steven Friedman said these incidents take place across the country but does not mean Cape Town has a racism problem as there is no information based on research to prove that.
Cape Argus