- Police have received formal complaints about an incident in Hank‘s Olde Irish Pub where a black customer was allegedly told he needed a white person to escort him to get inside.
- At the same time, ConcertsSA have discontinued their relationship with the pub.
- The incident has prompted the EFF to organize a protest there on Tuesday.
Two cases of assault and a complaint of racism in connection with a confrontation in Hank‘s Olde Irish Pub in Cape Town have been reported to the police.
In addition, ConcertsSA (CSA) has suspended its support for the concerts it helps to organize at the Bree Street pub.
This follows an incident in which a landlord was filmed invoking the pub’s right of admission policy: a black patron had been told by a bouncer that he could only enter if accompanied by a white person.
Western Cape Police spokesman Ndakhe Gwala said two assault charges were filed over the weekend and police were still investigating, with no arrests yet.
On Sunday, a video was posted on Twitter showing a lengthy confrontation with a man who identified himself in the video as the pub owner as a group of friends returned to complain about their black friend’s treatment.
The skipper, Cape Town lifeguard Thabiso Danca, told News24 in an interview that he was finishing a cigarette outside. When he tried to join his friends inside it, they told him he could only go in if a white person inside wanted him.
“My friend came out and they let me in,” he said. “He was accompanied by a white person now.
I was there for like three minutes, but I couldn’t take it after they told me I couldn’t go in because I’m black and I left.
He told News24 he felt humiliated and embarrassed, and when he told friends, including his friend Chris Logan, what happened, they insisted on going to the pub with him to alert the owner. A full interview with Danca and Logan will be posted on Tuesday.
The incident was highlighted in a video of Logan confronting a homeowner and explaining what had happened. When the first answer was “right of admission”, Logan pointed out that it was discrimination against a black man, a crime in South Africa.
This exchange was followed by a second incident involving an attempt to prevent another person in the group from re-entering after briefly leaving to return keys someone dropped.
According to Logan, that led to him being assaulted when he tried to intervene.
Danca reported a case of racism to the police and assault on Logan.
Police said the two assault charges were cross-charges.
Asked for comment, the pub’s owner, Johnny Papadakis, said mid-interview that he was not to be quoted in any way and would issue a statement later.
Meanwhile, CSA issued a statement saying it would withdraw support for the venue for now.
“The ConcertsSA project is committed to the South African Constitution and Bill of Rights and its protections for the human rights of all. We strongly distance ourselves from any policy or practice that harms people based on ‘race’ or any other ground .
“In light of these allegations, ConcertsSA, through our promoting partner, Real Wired Music, has discontinued its support of concerts at Hank‘Old Irish pub. CSA concerts at the venue will not be supported until the allegations have been investigated and a satisfactory conclusion reached.”
ConcertsSA said the planned lineups would be moved to other venues in Cape Town to mitigate the impact on performers and audiences.
