THE OWNERS of Hank’s Olde Irish Pub, appears stuck in South Africa’s past. The drinking establishment have literally come out with their fists swinging, procuring a well-known criminal attorney William Booth to aggressively pursue all and sundry. “Hank’s Old Irish Pub issued instructions to proceed with a case against Christopher Logan and others for “false” racism complaints and is currently consulting lawyers pertaining to other charges” claims JC MacFarlane LLB who appears to be tweeting on behalf of Booth.
In separate tweets a patron of Hanks warned the public: ‘trannies, race baiters, politicians, pedofiles, eff supporters, anyone who try to push their believes (sic) on others and assholes’ are not welcome, by which we take it they should stay away?
Consider this, a little over 15 years ago, Christopher Logan would have been jailed for swearing. The Irish-owned daily press would be entertaining its readers with an exclusive on how he had ‘assaulted an Irish Pub in Cape Town‘. His accusers would be given ample opportunity and column space to put their case before the public, whist Logan would be denied the most basic of rights such as the right to reply.
The SAHRC would not conduct a probe but simply refer the case to another forum, without providing any clear reasons. There would be a case pending before the Equality Court or Labour Court which would drag its heels for the next fours years, only providing a court date after the threat of protest action. Instead of issuing statements, our partisan government would simply look the other way.
Nobody within the legal fraternity, not least a black attorney nor an advocate of colour would have stepped up or been in a position to provide any assistance, perhaps citing the fact that Logan is ‘white’ or “Jewish” and therefore his case might distract attention away from their own client’s political agendas. It is remarkable that Logan has received any offers of legal assistance.
Before issuing its case-limited apology in 2015 for apartheid, News24 would not have run a story with the following headline: ‘Embarrassed and dehumanised’: Cape Town pub patron refused entry because he is black recounts humiliation (see dirty tricks)
In my case, where I complained about race profiling, de facto race segregation, the censorship of a story involving jazz music, and offensive inquiries into my religious affiliation by the corporation in 2006, I faced no less than an attempted gagging order (see here). I was then wrongfully jailed for complaining to Zulpha Khan at Heart 104.9 and later punished by the justice system for speaking out some four years after the incident occurred. My use of the F-bomb was seen by authorities as simply a license for them to attack my credibility.
Restrained from calling any witnesses in the case in which my secular identity rather than the company’s own racist past, was put on trial, I faced a corrupt and blatantly unfair proceeding in which I was forced to lead evidence from the witness box and the presiding judicial officer later acknowledged the respondent was his client. AJ Cheadle failed to provide any explanation to Cape Law Society regarding information surrounding his business associates and their involvement with the company.
What exactly was Halton Cheadle doing in bed with Max Sisulu whilst his company Kagiso was providing content to Media24 and Multichoice?
The government and the Minister of Justice have fought tooth and nail to suppress the proceedings, which included a test of the status of the TRC Report before the courts. The baldfaced corruption resulted in my opening a docket in terms of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act. The NPA under Zuma failed to act. I therefore can only express my dismay and solidarity with those affected by the latest racist incident and caution readers that our legal system is anything but a support group for the victims of racism.
UPDATE
Hank’s racist clientele have been spewing forth on twitter with a meme, that Christopher Logan is allegedly a “youth leader” who set up the entire incident to get elected, and that 25-year-old Thabiso Danca was merely asked for his ID to ‘verify his age’. Perhaps they have enough funds to pay off a corrupt ANC official like Halton Cheadle, to award them a partisan, 1994-denialist and overtly racist decision? It’s not as if this kind of thing hasn’t happened before?
Far from being politicos, the two are lifeguards. One can’t help notice that Danca looks very mature for his age, hardly a teen trying to get into a bar, and why are black persons being requested to supply ID but its okay for people like Logan to just enter?
He is understandably pissed off at the discrimination. Whether the result amounts to a disruption of the peace is another matter. Hanks seem to be arguing Logan was ‘out of order’ and therefore they were entitled to bounce him, at the same time they claim he was ‘the one who threw the first punch’. This is contradicted by CCTV footage and Logan’s nose-bleed. Don’t you just hate people accusing you of being aggressive when you’re the one with the blood dripping from your nose?
The fact that Logan stood for the SRC as a DASO candidate in 2017 is of no real consequence. One racist tweeter even goes so far as to view his raised fist in the DASO election poster as ‘suspicious’. This notion is reminiscent of apartheid SA, where case history records a well-known incident involving a black man sentenced to assault GBH in the ‘Transkei homeland’ for merely ‘raising his fist’ in what was considered then, a ‘black power salute’.
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