Durban - A paraplegic businessman has opened a case of crimen injuria against the manager of the Virgin Active gym at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
During a heated exchange between manager Marko Marais and Sandile Nkabinde, Marais allegedly said: “You disabled people like to get special treatment.”
Nkabinde previously served as a policeman for 14 years. He was shot by unknown gunmen in 2006, while on duty and has been wheelchair-bound since.
He has also been a Virgin Active member for 11 years and said Marais’s comment had caused him great humiliation and reputational damage.
“I broke down and cried in front of gym-goers,” said Nkabinde, 44, when he described his verbal altercation with Marais, earlier this week.
On what he now termed “the fateful day”, Nkabinde said he had called the gym to check if the lift to the first floor had been working, as he had been informed the previous day, via SMS, that it was out of order.
He was informed that the lift worked, so he planned to work on his chest and triceps, and equipment for those routines were only available on the first floor of the gym.
“I proceeded to the gym and upon arrival I was told by club manager (Marais) that the lift was out of order therefore I could not train there.”
Nkabinde told Marais that his staff had told him the lifts worked. “He (Marais) told me in a rude way that there was nothing he could do because we disabled people like to get special treatment,” claimed Nkabinde. After his ordeal, Nkabinde had to settle for a workout session at the Kings Park Stadium Virgin Active gym, across the road.
For the past two months, Nkabinde said he had to contend with a faulty lift at the Moses Mabhida gym.
Nkabinde said what also pained him was when gym staff had to carry him to the first floor for workouts when the lift was out of order. He had fallen on two previous occasions.
The Sunday Tribune has seen the thread of e-mails between Nkabinde and Natasha Reddy, Virgin Active’s sales manager when Nkabinde previously fell at the gym.
In one e-mail Nkabinde responded: “Hello Tash, I’m fine thanks. Hope you are good too. I broke my forearm at gym so I’m recuperating at home. I will be back soon.
“Thank you for keeping in touch.”
“This is denting my reputation, and it is a health hazard for me to be carried to the first level of the gym by staff members.”
Explaining the process of lifting him, Nkabinde said, “I’m quite a big man. I need at least four people to carry me, two at the back and two at the front otherwise I will fall. This is what I have to contend with at Virgin Active when the lift is not working.”
Nkabinde wanted the company to take “swift” action against Marais, who he said was not fit to manage a reputable brand such as Virgin Active.
When Sunday Tribune contacted Marais, he directed the newspaper to Carla White, the company’s head of strategic communications.
White said: “He (Nkabinde) not only used excessive profanities but also made verbal threats towards our staff when he discovered the lift was not operational.”
White said they had conducted an internal investigation, reviewed CCTV footage of the incident, and gathered witness statements.
“We are satisfied that our club’s general manager conducted himself in a professional and non-threatening manner,” she said.
White conceded that the lift was not working “due to technical issues” after this week’s severe storms.
“This was done for member and staff safety,” White said.
Cedric Hedgcock of QuadPara, an association aimed at delivering life changing services to persons with mobility impairments, said although they had not received a formal complaint, they would approach Virgin Active for clarity on the matter.
“We normally get complaints from a workplace where persons with severe mobility impairments were unfairly treated in terms of promotions. It is disgusting to hear of such allegations at a place where people are expecting great service.
“Once we receive complaints we will engage with all the relevant stakeholders to ensure justice is served,” said Hedgcock.
SAPS spokesperson Thobile Gwala said: “A case of crimen injuria was opened at Durban Central police station after a 44-year-old man was sworn at by the suspect at Virgin Active.” No arrests have been made, she said.