EFF protest outside Clicks in Menlyn Mall to be ’peaceful yet impactful’

Picture: Sakhile Ndlazi/Pretoria News

Picture: Sakhile Ndlazi/Pretoria News

Published Sep 7, 2020

Share

Pretoria – A sea of red is forming outside Clicks at Menlyn Park Mall, as EFF members gather to protest against a racist advert.

Some members of the EFF arrived at 6.45am, with others trickling in later. Police and security guards are monitoring the demonstration.

The fighters are being led by the party’s treasurer-general, Omphile Maotwe, who said the protest would be peaceful yet impactful.

Fearing the protest might turn violent, other shops in the mall chose to remain closed.

The protest is over an advert on the Clicks website which has been slammed as racist.

The advert included pictures of four women – two black and two white – and described the hair of the two black women as “dry and damaged” and “frizzy and dull”, while the white women’s hair was described as “fine and flat” and “normal".

The EFF said the advert undermined the dignity of black South Africans and suggested that the “hair of black people is damaged and inferior to that of white people”.

Clicks apologised for the campaign, calling it a mistake. According to group data, Clicks has 881 retail stores across the country which employ 15 347 people.

“We have made a mistake and sincerely apologise for letting you down. We recognise we have a role to play in creating a more diverse and inclusive SA, starting with our website content. We know we need to do better, and commit to ensuring our content better reflects this value,” it said.

In a statement on Sunday evening, Clicks said it planned to trade as normal on Monday despite the EFF’s attempt to close stores.

Pretoria News

Related Topics:

EFFProtests