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SAHRC to meet Boulders Shopping Centre management over Ndebele garb fallout

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The Human Rights Commission in Gauteng has called for an urgent meeting with the management of the Boulders Mall in Midrand, north of Johannesburg, after a shopper wearing a traditional attire was asked to leave a Clicks store.

The incident was captured on video and distributed on social media. It shows a manager of the mall telling a man in Ndebele clothes that his outfit is not decent.

The mall has since issued a statement saying it has suspended the manager.

Gauteng human rights head, Buang Jones, explains their reason for the meeting.

“We will review the video footage and we will also seek to obtain the particulars of the person who was involved and the person who was at the receiving end of this abhorrent conduct so that we can utilise any of our complains resolution processes to vindicate the rights which were clearly violated in our view.”

In the video, Jose Maponyane can be heard telling the customer that they’ve got a right of admission.

A woman, who appears to be the one filming the altercation can be heard saying: “This is Africa. You can’t tell someone what to do or what to wear at which mall.”

Contralesa weighs in

Traditional leaders organisation, Contralesa, has reacted with shock to the incident.

Contralesa president, Kgosi Larmeck Mokoena, describes it as an insult to the African culture.

“Contralesa is shocked and dismayed at the treatment that one shopper was put through by the manager of the Midrand Mall. This was an insult not to that shopper only but to all of us custodian of culture and tradition. We call upon the management of that mall to immediately remove that man if they can’t do it we will assist them because as traditional leaders we are going to mobilises our people to go and assist in removing that man if they can’t remove him,” says Mokoena.

Clicks to lay formal complaint against Boulders Shopping Centre manager

Pharmacy chain store, Clicks, says it will lay a formal complaint over the incident.

The company says it has been left embarrassed by the manager’s actions.

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