Isipingo beach brawl
‘I did not flash my private area. I was dusting sand thrown at me’ – Aunty
A CHATSWORTH grandmother who was caught on video making what appeared to be an obscene gesture during a beach brawl at Isipingo Beach said she and her family had been left highly embarrassed by the incident, which went viral on social media.
Since the New Year’s Day incident, Gonalutchmee Naidoo, 57, and her family have not left their Crossmoor home.
Online jokes and a series of memes since the incident have left Naidoo red-faced.
In an interview with POST, Naidoo denied she had made the obscene gesture. She claimed people involved in the fight had thrown sand on her and she was just dusting herself and not “flashing” her private area.
In the four-minute-long video, a group of people can be seen assaulting one another, hurling vulgarities and threatening violence with broken alcohol bottles.
Things came to a head when Govender’s daughter-in-law, who did not want to be named, was slapped by an unknown man.
Naidoo is then seen throwing sand at their “attackers”. The video then shows her lifting up her dress, pulling at her tights and making what appears to be an obscene gesture.
Naidoo said the New Year’s Day trip to the beach was a long-standing family tradition.
She claimed the fight broke out soon after her youngest son went for a swim.
“Another young man went into the water with his pit bull. He was cautioned by the lifeguard and told to take the dog out of the water. However, he became defensive and began arguing with the lifeguard.”
Naidoo said her son also told the man that having a dog on the beach without a leash was dangerous.
“Then he argued with my son and that’s when the fight started,” she said.
She claimed the video was only recorded when her family intervened.
“When my son was being assaulted we ran to help him. Everything just got out of hand from there. My nephew, who is only 15, was also slapped and my daughter-in-law was assaulted.”
She said the “attackers then turned on” her and began assaulting her with a gazebo pole.
At this point, the person recording the fight stopped videoing, Naidoo claimed.
“A man took a gazebo pole and hit me on my back, thighs and hands. I have the scars to prove it. Police eventually intervened and removed us from the beach. Our attackers trampled all over our belongings and destroyed our picnic spot and food.”
Naidoo said she just wanted to clear her name.
“I did not pull my pants down and show anyone my private area. I was dusting the sand off my clothing. This whole situation has got out of hand on social media and it is embarrassing.”
Since the ordeal, Naidoo said she had not been able to leave her home.
Shock
“When I woke up the next morning I was in shock after seeing the memes and the nasty comments on the video. As a family, we just stay indoors. We are afraid of being mocked or laughed at. My nephew did not want to even go back to school because of the embarrassment.”
Naidoo said social media users had made a mockery of their lives without getting to the truth about what happened.
“We are not laughing about this. We were severely assaulted. You can clearly see in the video that my daughter-in-law was smacked, but nobody is saying anything about that, yet they are calling me vulgar names.”
Police spokesperson, Colonel Thembeka Mbele, said the other family had opened a case last Tuesday.
“It is alleged by the complainant that he was with his family when he was attacked by the suspects, while at the Isipingo Beach. The circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated.”