Alleged resort racism referred to human rights council

An apparent racist incident at an Eastern Cape resort will be referred to the South African Human Rights Commission, the province’s parks and tourism agency said on Tuesday.

It launched an investigation after reports that the Lepel Lé resort, in Cintsa, had said an 11-year-old black boy was not welcome on the property.

It had found that the resort was not registered with the Eastern Cape Tourism Board, the agency said in a statement.

“We will refer the matter to the Human Rights Commission, which is mandated ... to investigate violations of rights entrenched in the Bill of Rights,” said the agency’s interim CEO Sybert Liebenberg.

The agency said there were contradictions in evidence and witness statements.

Some evidence tended to support media reports, while other accounts appeared to indicate that the owners of the property never directly refused access to the facility based on race.

“We ...

remain totally committed to upholding the Constitution ... and racism and any form of discrimination will not be tolerated and will be dealt with accordingly,” said Liebenberg.

The investigation was opened after the boy went to the resort with his white friend and his parents.

When the mother called the resort ahead of the visit, she was allegedly told that her son’s friend would not be allowed on the property.

The mother was reportedly told that only blacks who are workers at the site were allowed entry and the black child [could] not join the family for the holiday.—Sapa