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Race row after guards clear Cape Town beach

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A fresh race row has erupted in South Africa after a private security company allegedly ordered black beachgoers to vacate a fashionable Cape Town over the Christmas holiday.

A sheep was slaughtered on Clifton beach on Friday in a supposed ritual to tackle racism after beachgoers were told to leave the beach by guards from the PPA company last Sunday, two days before Christmas.

Beaches, like many public areas, were segregated under white-minority apartheid rule, and have since been a flashpoint of racial tension in South Africa.

Cape Town's mayor dismissed claims by the security firm that it was working for the city authorities when patrolling the beach at Clifton, an upmarket coastal suburb.

Mayor Dan Plato said the company "had no authority to ask anyone to leave Clifton beach", but he added that "they asked people of all races to leave, and did not single out any race groups".

He accused some "opportunistic political organisations" of exploiting the incident "to drive a highly divisive and politicised racial agenda".

PPA is the private security firm caught up in the row
PPA is the private security firm caught up in the row
RODGER BOSCH, AFP

Local activist Chumani Maxwele claimed the guards had targeted black people on the beach, which attracts huge crowds over the holiday season.

"These private security guards are hired by the Clifton (residents), they are actually briefed to not allow black people who appear to look like they are from the townships or criminals onto the beach," he told the News 24 website.

"The offering of the sheep is calling on our ancestors to respond to our trauma at the hands of white people," he added.

- 'Reclaim our beach' -

The ANC government weighed in over the row, with deputy police minister Bongani Mkongi vowing to "go hard on the security company.

"This is a property of the state, property of the people and therefore we don't need security companies here," Mkongi said.

A few dozen protesters carrying placards reading "reclaim our beach" and "let's make Clifton black again" gathered on the beach on Friday evening.

Singing protest songs, they burned incense and slaughtered a sheep in a ritual they said was to cleanse the beach of racism.

The issue of racially segretated beaches is so sensitive in South Africa because of the country&apos...
The issue of racially segretated beaches is so sensitive in South Africa because of the country's apartheid history
RODGER BOSCH, AFP

A handful of people protested against the sacrifice.

PPA chief executive Alwyn Landman said that the company's guards did not close the beach, but acted to protect local residents, saying criminal activity had caused "mayhem".

The city has appealed for people who felt threatened or intimidated by security guards to lodge a complaint with the police.

This is the latest in a series of controversies over the issue of racism on South Africa's beaches.

In 2016, South African estate agent Penny Sparrow likened black beach-goers to monkeys in a social media post, triggering widespread outrage. She was fined 150,000 rand ($10,500, 9,050 euros).

In September, South African tourist Adam Catzavelos ignited another storm of protest after he used a racial slur in a phone video message from Greece, boasting that the beach had no black people on it.

A fresh race row has erupted in South Africa after a private security company allegedly ordered black beachgoers to vacate a fashionable Cape Town over the Christmas holiday.

A sheep was slaughtered on Clifton beach on Friday in a supposed ritual to tackle racism after beachgoers were told to leave the beach by guards from the PPA company last Sunday, two days before Christmas.

Beaches, like many public areas, were segregated under white-minority apartheid rule, and have since been a flashpoint of racial tension in South Africa.

Cape Town’s mayor dismissed claims by the security firm that it was working for the city authorities when patrolling the beach at Clifton, an upmarket coastal suburb.

Mayor Dan Plato said the company “had no authority to ask anyone to leave Clifton beach”, but he added that “they asked people of all races to leave, and did not single out any race groups”.

He accused some “opportunistic political organisations” of exploiting the incident “to drive a highly divisive and politicised racial agenda”.

PPA is the private security firm caught up in the row

PPA is the private security firm caught up in the row
RODGER BOSCH, AFP

Local activist Chumani Maxwele claimed the guards had targeted black people on the beach, which attracts huge crowds over the holiday season.

“These private security guards are hired by the Clifton (residents), they are actually briefed to not allow black people who appear to look like they are from the townships or criminals onto the beach,” he told the News 24 website.

“The offering of the sheep is calling on our ancestors to respond to our trauma at the hands of white people,” he added.

– ‘Reclaim our beach’ –

The ANC government weighed in over the row, with deputy police minister Bongani Mkongi vowing to “go hard on the security company.

“This is a property of the state, property of the people and therefore we don’t need security companies here,” Mkongi said.

A few dozen protesters carrying placards reading “reclaim our beach” and “let’s make Clifton black again” gathered on the beach on Friday evening.

Singing protest songs, they burned incense and slaughtered a sheep in a ritual they said was to cleanse the beach of racism.

The issue of racially segretated beaches is so sensitive in South Africa because of the country&apos...

The issue of racially segretated beaches is so sensitive in South Africa because of the country's apartheid history
RODGER BOSCH, AFP

A handful of people protested against the sacrifice.

PPA chief executive Alwyn Landman said that the company’s guards did not close the beach, but acted to protect local residents, saying criminal activity had caused “mayhem”.

The city has appealed for people who felt threatened or intimidated by security guards to lodge a complaint with the police.

This is the latest in a series of controversies over the issue of racism on South Africa’s beaches.

In 2016, South African estate agent Penny Sparrow likened black beach-goers to monkeys in a social media post, triggering widespread outrage. She was fined 150,000 rand ($10,500, 9,050 euros).

In September, South African tourist Adam Catzavelos ignited another storm of protest after he used a racial slur in a phone video message from Greece, boasting that the beach had no black people on it.

AFP
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With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

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