Black couple ‘evicted from Cape Town B&B’

A couple say they were asked to leave a De Wet Road guest house. Picture: Twitter

A couple say they were asked to leave a De Wet Road guest house. Picture: Twitter

Published Oct 20, 2019

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Cape Town - A black couple have expressed their dismay over an alleged racist incident that occurred at a Cape Town guest house on Friday.

Twitter user @NyamsieM, username Kumkanikazi, on Saturday reported

what she claims happened at the De Wet Road guest house in a series of tweets.

“We have just been evicted from a guest house booked by our travelling agent the minute he noticed we black at Camps bay capetown, our Uber driver just said welcome to capetown,” she tweeted.

She said she had booked the accommodation through Rennies Travel and that the guest house was listed by the short-term rental group airManaged.

In a video uploaded to Twitter on Saturday, two white men, believed to

be the guest house managers, can be seen speaking to a black couple explaining to them that they would call them an Uber and that they should then leave.

In her tweets Kumkanikazi said they had checked into the accommodation as an alternative because a geyser had burst at the property they were meant to be staying at. She said they had been there for only a few hours when they were abruptly asked to leave.

“The owner came at 10am and said he did not receive payment therefore we not suppose to be there @RenniesTravel confirmed they paid and later we where then told they don’t mind refunding us and we should be out by @AirManagedSA and they did refund,” she tweeted.

She tweeted: “F**k you 4 accepting our money knowing your client very well that they do not want black money even though you refunded. Waisted our time and humiliated us only because we black, worse this is around our presidents area ‘so we heard’.”

Mayoral committee member for economic opportunities and asset management James Vos said racism had no place in the tourism industry.

“The City of Cape Town is appalled by allegations of racism by a Cape Town guest house owner... We view this matter in a very serious light and will refer it to the tourism ombudsman for immediate investigation,” he said.

On Saturday, the guest house owners diverted calls to the booking agents, airManaged. A staff member refused to comment on the incident.

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