Enraged visitor fixes ‘tip’ left by abusive teens

A traveller who was outraged when a Spur waiter in East London was left a measly R4 tip “for hungry Africans” by racially abusive teenagers, stopped in at the same restaurant to leave his own tip for “hungry Africans”.

“The incident left me unsettled and enraged. I knew that I wanted to do something about it. I spoke about the incident with a few friends and shared my frustration‚” he said.

Waiter Xolani Mbalo‚ 24‚ an information technology development graduate from Walter Sisulu University‚ said last month that he had been harassed by the teens to the point where he quit serving their table.

The good Samaritan‚ who had been on holiday and asked not to be named, as he did not want to be the focus of attention‚ visited the same restaurant earlier this month in an attempt to hand over his tip before departing for Cape Town, but Mbalo was not on duty.

“So I left a note and a tip that had been collected from 11 friends – including three people across the globe that I have never met‚” he said.

The note‚ left with the restaurant manager‚ read: “Xolani‚ I’m sorry that I was not able to meet you. Please accept this small tip of R4‚444 ‘for hungry Africans’. Because what this country needs more of is hungry Africans. Hungry for knowledge. Hungry for justice. Hungry for hope. Hungry to know that they are seen‚ known and valued‚” he wrote.

Spur described the behaviour of the teens at the time as atrocious. “We do not condone use of derogatory‚ racist or sexist behaviour or language‚” management earlier stated.

The traveller urged Mbalo not to allow the bigoted actions of others to fill him with self doubt and said that there were still good people out there. He added his intention was to stand for what was right.

Spur management was contacted for comment on the tip but had not responded at the time of writing. Mbalo declined to comment.