WARNING: Video contains foul language
Mitchells Plain residents flocked to the Liberty Promenade Mall on Wednesday to show their support for a security guard who was verbally and racially abused by an angry shopper.
A video of the attack went viral on Tuesday with nearly 100 000 views and 3000 shares.
The video, which was filmed by a customer and posted on Facebook, shows a man swearing at the guard after he was stopped from leaving the mall at a designated “entry” point.
The three-minute video was captioned: “So the mall has entrance and exit routes to avoid cross contamination...Then we get coloureds who think they own everything and can speak to people as they please...The security is just doing his job but still he gets treated like this...I just think this person needs to see how unnecessary he was and that he can go to jail for what was said in this video and i hope someone presses charges because at the end of the day this person will cry Racist but then his the Humpty Racist Dumpty. PS: he didn’t want to walk from entrance 1 to entrance 2.” (sic)
In the video, the unidentified man tells the 29-year-old security guard: “I don’t want to go out that side, your p***, ek maak vir jou dood n***er, ek sal jou moer met die stoel, moetie vir my vat vir ‘n p*** nie, ek issie julle n*** k@ff!rs nie, ek brand julle soort uit, hoor jy.”
The man then threatens to hit the guard and points a finger in his face, while the guard who wears a mask and uniform, does not react.
On Wednesday, Warda Cay gathered her friends and went to deliver a food parcel to the guard.
“I saw the video on Facebook, I was so proud of this security standing his ground and keeping things professional despite this man screaming and threatening him in his face,” she tells the Daily Voice.
“Nobody needs to be treated like that in his workplace, this man was trying to protect us and he was just doing his job.
“Myself and some friends went to the Promenade Mall to meet this security guard and just bless him with some groceries.”
The group also had parcels for the other guards, but first met with Centre Management to ask permission.
HELP: Promenade Mall shoppers deliver goodies
Brenda Bibby, the General Manager at Liberty Promenade Mall, said they are aware of the incident and that the measures were being taken in light of the Coronavirus lockdown.
“It is believed the frustration portrayed by the customer came about due to the mall’s entrance and exit procedure whereby shoppers are required to enter through Entrance 1 and 3, and exit through Entrance 2.
“This procedure was put in place in conjunction with the Disaster Risk Management plan of the mall for the safety and wellbeing of all patrons, staff, and tenants of the mall.
“Belligerent behaviour of this nature is not tolerated at Liberty Promenade and the incident is currently under a full investigation.”