Race row after guards clear Cape Town beach

Cape town: A fresh race row has erupted in South Africa after a private security company allegedly ordered black beachgoers to vacate the fashionable Cape Town over the Christmas holiday.

A sheep was slaughtered on Clifton beach on Friday in a supposed ritual to tackle racism after beachgoers were told to leave the beach by guards from the PPA com- pany last Sunday, two days before Christmas.

Beaches, like many public areas, were segregated under white-minority apartheid rule, and have since been a flashpoint of racial tension in South Africa.

Cape Town’s mayor dismissed claims by the security firm that it was working for the city authorities when patrolling the beach at Clifton, an upmarket coastal suburb.

Mayor Dan Plato said the company “had no authority to ask anyone to leave Clifton beach”, but he added that “they asked people of all races to leave, and did not single out any race groups”.

He accused “opportunistic political organisations” of exploiting the incident “to drive a highly divisive and politicised racial agenda”.

Local activist Chumani Maxwele claimed the guards targeted black people on the beach, which attracts huge crowds over the holidays.

“These private security guards are hired by the Clifton (residents); they are actually briefed to not allow black people who appear to look like they are from the townships or criminals onto the beach,” he told the News 24 website. — AFP