*This article has been edited
Durban - A wheelcair-bound paralympian, who was denied access to a packed nightclub’s dance floor because the manager felt other patrons might trip over him, has accused the venue of discrimination.
Justin Govender, 36, who represented South Africa in basketball,
said he was “shattered” on Saturday evening when bouncers at the Cuba Lounge at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban denied him access. This was despite his being allowed in on previous occasions, he said.
But on Sunday manager Sunil Singh said the decision was to protect Govender and other patrons from potential harm.
“The club was very busy and full on the evening,” he said. He also accused Govender of having an “arrogant” attitude.
“He wanted to come with a wheelchair on to the dance floor – where people are dancing. Now people are drinking – what’s going to happen if someone were to push him? If you are drunk and by mistake bump him, you will fall and we’ll get into trouble,” said Singh.
He said Govender had been offered an alternative table.
In an e-mailed letter to the night spot, Govender said: “Upon arriving at the entrance, the bouncer asked my wife and I to step aside and wait… 10 minutes later, the manager, Eugene, came down and spoke to the bouncer (not addressing us at all) and told him to tell us we were not going to be able to go into the club because I was in a wheelchair. At that point, my wife approached the manager and asked him why.”
An argument ensued and the club then offered the couple the table at the entrance which, at first, they refused.
“
We advised the manager that we were joining a table of about 15 people, but he refused to allow us in. The table was on the other side of the club, facing the dance floor.”
After being denied the contact details of the club’s owner, he said, they then contacted the Gateway branch.
“I spoke to the manager, Wesley, and he was confused as to why they were not allowing us in. He even offered to set up a table for us and asked us to bring our party there, which I appreciated,” he said.
In the end, the couple took the table that was offered to them. “For the sake of our party, we eventually decided that we would abide by the manager’s rules,” said Govender.
But, he said, the ordeal had left him “disgusted”.
**Correction to this story follows: It was incorrectly reported that Justin Govender accepted an alternative table offered by the Cuba Lounge at Moses Mabhida stadium because he and his wife wanted to “abide by the manager’s rules”. However, Govender said they had not stayed, but left when he was denied access to the club because of his wheelchair. The error is regretted.
The Mercury