A Durban man’s day that was meant to be spent celebrating his son’s birthday which he shares with Nelson Mandela, was ruined after he was allegedly called a “k*****” by a stranger in the CBD on Tuesday.
Linda Bhengu said he had to spend the afternoon opening a case with the police and preparing to taking the matter to the Equality Court after the verbal dispute that ended in a white man, Louis Fourie, allegedly ordering him to “F*** off you k*****”. This was allegedly after Bhengu pulled his vehicle into the entrance of a business to do a U-turn in a side road off Anton Lembede Street.
Bhengu said he had taken a wrong turn on his way to fetch his wife from work to collect a birthday cake. He turned into the entrance to avoid an oncoming vehicle.
Fourie on Wednesday denied using the “K” word, saying he had merely sworn at Bhengu.
“I turned into the workshop and he said to me ‘what do I want here’? I told him that I was trying to turn. He said he had received a R1 000 fine for doing the same thing and then he said “f*** off you k*****,” Bhengu said.
He said he got out of his car and asked a staff member for the man’s name. He said he then went into the building and asked to see him, demanding an apology, but Fourie refused and instead called his manager to speak to him.
“If he had apologised I was going to get back into my car and drive away. But the manager came, he asked me who told me this guy is Louis; that irritated me."
Bhengu said he had been hurt by the incident and when Fourie rang him later in the day he refused to accept his belated apology.
“I am a man of God. I forgive but somehow a lesson has to be taught because his generation will teach the next generation and I don’t want his children to treat our children like this. I don’t want his money. I want justice,” Bhengu said.
Fourie yesterday denied using the racial slur saying the matter had been “blown out of proportion”.
“The complainant was coming up the (road) the wrong way and I reprimanded him saying he could cause an accident. It is wrong, if I go up a one-way street I get a fine. I said to him ‘what happens if there is an accident?’ and he said he will have me arrested and then I told him to f*** off. I have done nothing wrong except use the ‘F word’. He didn’t ask me to apologise, I did it of my own free will,” Fourie said.
SAPS spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane said a case of crimen injuria had been opened at the Point Police station.