Activist ordered to leave mall because of traditional attire
Thando Mahlangu was accused of dressing "indecently" and forced to leave The Boulders Shopping Centre.
Ndebele author and activist, Thando Mahlangu, and his girlfriend, Nqobile Masuku, went to The Boulders Mall in Midrand on Wednesday to enjoy a casual day of shopping and grab some lunch.
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Unfortunately, their trip was cut short and ended up being quite traumatic as they were confronted in the Clicks store by the shopping centre's management.
The incident was captured by Masuku on a cellphone and shows a man, who refers to himself as the mall owner, telling Mahlangu that he has to leave the mall because he does not condone the outfit he was wearing and he reserves the right of admission.
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Mahlangu was wearing Ndebele traditional attire.
In the video clip, the 'mall owner' says "I do not condone this in my mall" and accuses Mahlangu of dressing "indecently" to which he replies: "You are wearing Western, I am wearing African".
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His girlfriend also stepped in to defend him by stating: "This is Africa, you can't tell someone what to do or what to wear at which mall."
You can watch the full clip below:
Saddest reality in Africa, I was subjected to inside the @Clicks_SA store at The Boulders Shopping Center. By the center manager, who said it was his shopping complex. I was told that I'm wearing inappropriate I must go & Omega risk solutions harassed me #NdebeleTwitter pic.twitter.com/klzmTQspJO
— #WeNeedAmaNdebeleOnTV (@thandomahlangu_) March 24, 2021
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In an interview with SowetanLIVE, Mahlangu opened up about how the incident affected him.
As soon as we walked into a Clicks store, the guard came to us and told me that I was not welcomed at the mall because I was harassing customers with my attire. About two minutes later, the man who identified himself as the owner of the mall arrived. He started telling me to get out of the mall, but still I refused. We had exchanged words with the mall owner which resulted in him ordering the security to use his walkie talkie to call for reinforcement of three more guards.
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Mahlangu also said that he was very disappointed, left the mall feeling heartbroken, and after this experience, he has not been doing well emotionally.
Clicks took to Twitter to clarify their involvement in the issue:
The Centre Manager of Boulders and the Boulders Centre security demanded that the customer leave.
— Clicks (@Clicks_SA) March 24, 2021
Our store manager intervened and asked the Centre Manager to leave. The customer was allowed to continue shopping.
We will be putting in a formal complaint.
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While The Boulders Shopping Centre has also released a media statement saying that they had no intention of "discriminating against anyone on the basis of their cultural beliefs and practices."
The Boulders Shopping Centre would like to apologise unreservedly for the incident that took place at Clicks. The Centre...
Posted by The Boulders Shopping Centre on Wednesday, 24 March 2021
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Mahlangu has not yet responded to any of the above statements.
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Main image courtesy of @thandomahlangu_/Twitter