Cape Town | Thursday
A KLEINMOND barber in the Overberg has denied chasing a 17-year-old youth out of his hair salon because he is black.
The youth has filed charges of crimen injuria and assault with the police against Flippie Otto, who claimed on Wednesday: ”I can’t chase anyone, I have a wooden leg. It’s not true that I chased that young man away.
”There was a coloured guy who came here for a cut. I told him that I don’t cut curly hair because of the texture.”
The youth, Nico Martin, came face to face with Otto on Wednesday during a protest march organised by angry black residents of the seaside town.
Martin, who had been holidaying in Kleinmond, said he went to Flippie’s Men’s Hair Salon for a hair cut last Saturday. He alleged Otto had sworn at him and threatened him.
”I told him that I didn’t understand because I wanted a haircut, not trouble,” Martin said. ”I feel sad and hurt. I don’t like people who treat black people like that. We should be treated equally.”
Several residents of Kleinmond said they had also been turned away from the salon.
The Western Cape secretary-general of the Congress of SA Trade Unions Tony Ehrenreich, who led the protest with local African National Congress leaders, said there had been several incidents of racism in Kleinmond.
Overberg ANC chairman Thomas Jansen and Kleinmond ANC councillor Peter Makka pledged to work with Cosatu to root out racism in the region. – Sapa